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Guantánamo Prisoner Obaidullah Cleared for Release After 14 Years

HeadlineMay 23, 2016

A Guantánamo prisoner held for 14 years without criminal trial has been cleared for release. U.S. forces captured the prisoner, known as Obaidullah, during a raid in Afghanistan in 2002 when he was 19. He was accused of planting bombs in a field near his home, although his attorneys said the bombs were relics of the war against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan which his family had buried in order to dispose of them. The Obama administration dismissed the charges against him in 2011, but he remained in prison. He has alleged torture during interrogation and was one of the prisoners who launched a hunger strike in 2013; news reports at the time said he had lost 36 pounds. Despite Obama’s pledge to close Guantánamo, there are now 80 prisoners there, 28 of them cleared to leave.

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