Five Years of My LifeFive Years of My Life
A former prisoner at Guantanamo describes how he was arrested during a visit to Pakistan, sold to U.S. forces, and imprisoned, and how he endured years of torture, interrogation, and solitary confinement before being released.
A Turkish cirizen born and raised in Germany, Murat Kurnaz was only nineteen when, in October 2001, he traveled to Pakistan to study the Koran and learn more about his Muslim faith. A few weeks later, on the day that he was scheduled to return home, Kurnaz was taken off a bus at a police checkpoint and arrested without explanation. After being held in Pakistani jails for several days, Kurnaz was handed over to the U.S. military and transported to an American base in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Two months later, he was taken to Guantanamo, where he was registered as prisoner #61.
For more than 1,600 days, Kurnaz lived through hell. He was kept in a small mesh-wire cage and endured brutal daily interrogations, unspeakable physical abuse, sexual humiliation, solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, and other forms of torture. Despite his best efforts to communicate his innocence, Kurnaz was charged as an "enemy combatant" by a Guantanamo Tribunal in September 2004. Finally, in August 2006, without explanation or apology, Kurnaz was released and returned to his family in Germany. Throughout his ordeal, he maintained his indefatigable faith and will to live.
Kurnaz's story of struggle and survival is both sobering and poignant. Beyond its importance as a testimony of the horrors of Guantanamo, Five Years of My Life is an inspiring account of the endurance of the human spirit.
In October 2001, nineteen-year-old Murat Kurnaz traveled to Pakistan to visit a madrassa. During a security check a few weeks after his arrival, he was arrested without explanation and for a bounty of $3,000, the Pakistani police sold him to U.S. forces. He was first taken to Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he was severely mistreated, and then two months later he was flown to Guantanamo as Prisoner #61. For more than 1,600 days, he was tortured and lived through hell. He was kept in a cage and endured daily interrogations, solitary confinement, and sleep deprivation. Finally, in August 2006, Kurnaz was released, with acknowledgment of his innocence. Told with lucidity, accuracy, and wisdom, Kurnaz's story is both sobering and poignant--an important testimony about our turbulent times when innocent people get caught in the crossfire of the war on terrorism.
The gripping account of an innocent man held prisoner in Afghanistan and Guantanamo for five years
The gripping account of an innocent man held prisoner in Afghanistan and Guantanamo for five years
In October 2001, nineteen-year-old Murat Kurnaz traveled to Pakistan to visit a madrassa. During a security check a few weeks after his arrival, he was arrested without explanation and for a bounty of $3,000, the Pakistani police sold him to U.S. forces. He was first taken to Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he was severely mistreated, and then two months later he was flown to Guantanamo as Prisoner #61. For more than 1,600 days, he was tortured and lived through hell. He was kept in a cage and endured daily interrogations, solitary confinement, and sleep deprivation. Finally, in August 2006, Kurnaz was released, with acknowledgment of his innocence. Told with lucidity, accuracy, and wisdom, Kurnaz's story is both sobering and poignant--an important testimony about our turbulent times when innocent people get caught in the crossfire of the war on terrorism.
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- New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
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