Haroon al-Afghani

Asadullah Haroon Gul (born 1981), commonly referred to as Haroon al-Afghani ("the Afghani"), is an Afghan-Pakistani citizen who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.

Asadullah Haroon Gul
A portrait of Haroon gul
Born1981 (age 4243)
Sherzad District, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan
Arrested4 February 2007
Jalalabad, Afghanistan
National Directorate of Security
CitizenshipPakistan
Detained at Guantanamo
Other name(s) Haroon al-Afghani
ISN3148
Charge(s)None
StatusReleased
OccupationTrader of household goods
SpouseUnknown wife
ChildrenUnknown daughter

Haroon al-Afghani was transferred to the Guantanamo detention camps on June 22, 2007, and was held there for 15 years. On June 22, 2007, the United States Department of Defense acknowledged transferring Haroon al-Afghani to Guantanamo. Prior to 2016, almost nothing certain was known about his background and activities. He had been held for more than eight years without being charged (leading to Al Jazeera naming him a "forever prisoner") before he was allowed legal representation, which was successfully pleaded for by Reprieve US.

The DoD detained him on the claim that he was an Al-Qaeda courier and senior commander of Hezb-e-Islami/Gulbuddin who allegedly commanded multiple HiG terrorist cells, conducted IED (improvised explosive device) attacks in Nangarhar province, and had regular contact with senior Al-Qaeda and HiG leadership. The argument for his detention was that he may have had additional information with respect to ongoing Al-Qaeda operations, and may have had information that would be useful to them in thwarting future attacks.

However, relatives, who were unaware of his location following his sudden abduction, rejected the story and stated that the accusations were baseless. Reprieve US and his lawyer believe that, as supported by an Al Jazeera study, Al-Afghani is a victim of mistaken identity, and "has never been a member of the Taliban or al Qaeda, has never caused nor attempted to cause harm to American personnel or property and has never espoused violent beliefs."

According to Jeffrey Kaye he feared other captives would regard him as an American spy.

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