Sadik Ahmad Turkistani is an ethnic Uyghur born and raised in

Taif, Saudi Arabia Taif ( ar, , translit=aṭ-Ṭāʾif, lit=The circulated or encircled, ) is a city and governorate in the Makkan Region of Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of in the slopes of the Hijaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarat M ...

and an opponent of the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

. Held by the Taliban in

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...

prison in Afghanistan, he was briefly freed when they were overthrown in late 2001. One of the Kandahar Five, he was taken into custody by the Americans and shipped to

Guantanamo Bay detention camp The Guantanamo Bay detention camp ( es, Centro de detención de la bahía de Guantánamo) is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, also referred to as Guantánamo, GTMO, and Gitmo (), on the coast of Guant ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

in early 2002, where he was treated as an enemy combatant.Detainee Cleared for Release Is in Limbo at Guantanamo
''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', December 14, 2005 Finally he was cleared for release in late 2005. He was repatriated to Saudi Arabia on June 24, 2006.

Imprisoned by Taliban

Turkistani was imprisoned by the

for four and a half years, during which time he suffered torture and mistreatment at

prison. He was alleged to have been involved in a plot to kill

al Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...

leader

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...

. Turkistani admits being opposed to the Taliban, Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, but he denies that he was involved in any plots. The Taliban imprisoned many foreigners on the assumption they were spies. When the

Northern Alliance The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( prs, جبهه متحد اسلامی ملی برای نجات افغانستان ''Jabha-yi Muttahid-i Islāmi-yi Millī barāyi Nijāt ...

liberated Kandahar prison, they freed about 1500 men; as many as 2000 had been held there. Turkistani was among five former prisoners at Kandahar who said they were sold to the US forces by the

for a bounty. He was taken into US custody and transported to Guantanamo, where he was treated as an enemy combatant. Turkistani was one of nine former Taliban prisoners whom the ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

'' noted had suffered going from Taliban custody, where they had been accused of spying or opposition, to American custody and transport to detention and more torture at Guantanamo. One of their defense lawyers described their ordeals as beyond bizarre and "horrific."

Read into the Senate records

During a debate in 2005 on Senator Lindsey Graham's motion to prevent detainees having access to the US courts, Senator

Jeff Bingaman Jesse Francis "Jeff" Bingaman Jr. (born October 3, 1943) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from New Mexico from 1983 to 2013, for 5 terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Chairman of Committee Outreac ...

had several ''

'' articles on the plight of the Uyghur detainees read into the Senate Record.Guantanamo Prisoners
, ''

US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

'', December 21, 2005 One of the articles featured Turkistani. (Note: The US Supreme Court decision in ''

Boumediene v. Bush ''Boumediene v. Bush'', 553 U.S. 723 (2008), was a writ of ''habeas corpus'' submission made in a civilian court of the United States on behalf of Lakhdar Boumediene, a naturalized citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, held in military detention by ...

'' (2008) ruled that detainees and other foreign nationals could have access to US courts under ''

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

.'')

Combatant Status Review

Not an enemy combatant

The ''

'' reports that Turkistani was one of 38 detainees who was determined not to have been an enemy combatant during his Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT).Guantanamo Bay Detainees Classified as "No Longer Enemy Combatants"
, ''

'' They reported that Turkistani was one of several still not released. On May 10, 2006

Radio Free Asia Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a United States government-funded private non-profit news service that broadcasts radio programs and publishes online news, information, and commentary for its audiences in Asia. The service, which provides editoriall ...

quoted from an interview with Abu Bakker Qassim, one of the five Uighurs who had been transported to

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

on May 5, 2006."Guantanamo Uyghurs Try to Settle in Albania"
''

'', May 10, 2006 Qassim said he left four innocent detainees behind at

Camp Iguana Camp Iguana is a small compound in the detention camp complex on the US Naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Camp Iguana originally held three child detainees, who camp spokesmen then claimed were the only detainees under age 16 (the age at whi ...

: a

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n, an

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

n, a

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

n, and a man who had been born in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

to Uighur exiles.

Turkistani's garden

Turkistani is reported to have told his lawyer,

Sabin Willett Peter Sabin Willett, known as Sabin Willett, (born March 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and novelist, a partner with the Philadelphia-based law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, formerly a partner at Bingham McCutchen. He lives near Boston, Massachuse ...

, that he and fellow prisoners had planted a garden with seeds saved from their rations.Guantanamo Bay prisoners plant seeds of hope in secret garden
, ''

Uyghur Human Rights Project The Uyghur Human Rights Project ( zh, s=维吾尔人权项目, ug, ئۇيغۇر كىشىلىك ھوقۇق قۇرۇلۇشى; abbreviated UHRP) is a research-based advocacy organization located in Washington, D.C. that promotes human rights for Uy ...

'', April 29, 2006Guantanamo prisoners planting seeds of hope
''

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

'', May 1, 2006 Turkistani and the other men in Camp Iguana cultivated their clandestine garden with plastic spoons.

Transfer to Saudi Arabia

On June 25, 2006, 14 men were repatriated to Saudi Arabia from Guantanamo. While some press reports described these men as 14 Saudis, others described them as 13 Saudis, and a Turkistani who had been resident in Saudi Arabia.Thirteen Saudis and a Turkistani return to Saudi from Guantanamo
, '' Middle East News'', June 25, 2006 By January 2009, Turkistani had settled again in his native Taif. He was planning to marry, and to open his own business.mirror Tim Reid, "Guantánamo inmate tortured by al-Qaeda and entombed by the US"
''Times Online'', 16 January 2009, mirror

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkistani, Sadik Ahmad Chinese extrajudicial prisoners of the United States People subject to extraordinary rendition by the United States Guantanamo detainees known to have been released Prisoners of the Taliban Living people Year of birth missing (living people)