Shah Muhammad
Encyclopedia
Sha Mohammed Alikhel is a Pakistan
i who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States
Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba
.
On 8 May 2003 Muhammad was released at the same time as two other Pakistanis,
Jehan Wali
and Sahibzada Usman Ali. He was 20 years old.
Muhammad is a baker
from Dir
, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
.
Only one other Pakistani detainee, elderly Mohammed Saghir
, had been released prior to his release.
Shah reported that he felt despair, and made four suicide attempts during his time in Guantanamo, even though suicide was against the tenets of Islam
.
When The Guardian
interviewed Muhammad, a year after his release, Muhammad reported ongoing after-effects from his incarceration:
"The biggest damage is to my brain. My physical and mental state isn't right. I'm a changed person. I don't laugh or enjoy myself much."
The Guardian reports that Muhammad's first suicide attempt followed a month of solitary confinement in a punishment cell.
Muhammad was not confined there because he had broken any of the camp rules — rather the camp's expansion meant they had run short of ordinary cells.
Muhammad reported having his suicidal impulses treated by involuntary injections with extremely powerful, long-lasting, psychoactive drugs.
The Department of Defense
released a list of all the captives who had been detained in Guantanamo, in military custody on 15 May 2006.
Muhammad Shah's name is missing from that list.
Mark Bowden
, writing in the Philadelphia Inquirer, described traveling to Pakistan to interview Shah Muhammad and Shabidzada Usman, another young Pakistani who was among the first captives to be released.
Bowden described being met by "warmth and elaborate courtesy" by the two released men, who he described as "uneducated, unworldly, and dirt poor". Bowden believed their accounts that they were rounded up and sold to the Americans by undiscriminating warlords, for a bounty, who didn't care if they were innocent.
On an official list of the captives' departure dates from Guantanamo published in November 2008 his name was published as "Sha Mohammed Alikhel".
drafted a report, published on May 27, 2009, that listed a "Shah Mohammed" as having been "killed while fighting U.S. forces in Afghanistan".
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
On 8 May 2003 Muhammad was released at the same time as two other Pakistanis,
Jehan Wali
Jehan Wali
Jihan Wali is a citizen of Pakistan who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 444.Jihan Wali was transferred to Pakistan on May 9, 2003.-Repatriation:...
and Sahibzada Usman Ali. He was 20 years old.
Muhammad is a baker
Baker
A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...
from Dir
Dir, Pakistan
Dir is a town in Upper Dir District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. It is sometimes known as Dir Proper or Khas Dir to distinguish it from the district. It lies at the foot of the Lowarai Pass, the main motor road to Chitral, on the Dir River, a tributary of the Panjkora River.Dir was...
, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Only one other Pakistani detainee, elderly Mohammed Saghir
Mohammed Saghir
Mohammed Saghir is an elderly Pakistani who was held by the U.S. military in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 143....
, had been released prior to his release.
Shah reported that he felt despair, and made four suicide attempts during his time in Guantanamo, even though suicide was against the tenets of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
.
When The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
interviewed Muhammad, a year after his release, Muhammad reported ongoing after-effects from his incarceration:
"The biggest damage is to my brain. My physical and mental state isn't right. I'm a changed person. I don't laugh or enjoy myself much."
The Guardian reports that Muhammad's first suicide attempt followed a month of solitary confinement in a punishment cell.
Muhammad was not confined there because he had broken any of the camp rules — rather the camp's expansion meant they had run short of ordinary cells.
Muhammad reported having his suicidal impulses treated by involuntary injections with extremely powerful, long-lasting, psychoactive drugs.
The Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
released a list of all the captives who had been detained in Guantanamo, in military custody on 15 May 2006.
Muhammad Shah's name is missing from that list.
Mark Bowden
Mark Bowden
Not to be confused with Mark Bowden, U.N. Resident & Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Somalia.Mark Robert Bowden is an American writer and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he is a 1973 graduate of Loyola University Maryland...
, writing in the Philadelphia Inquirer, described traveling to Pakistan to interview Shah Muhammad and Shabidzada Usman, another young Pakistani who was among the first captives to be released.
Bowden described being met by "warmth and elaborate courtesy" by the two released men, who he described as "uneducated, unworldly, and dirt poor". Bowden believed their accounts that they were rounded up and sold to the Americans by undiscriminating warlords, for a bounty, who didn't care if they were innocent.
On an official list of the captives' departure dates from Guantanamo published in November 2008 his name was published as "Sha Mohammed Alikhel".
Claim that he was killed fighting U.S. forces
On April 7, 2009 the Defense Intelligence AgencyDefense Intelligence Agency
The Defense Intelligence Agency is a member of the Intelligence Community of the United States, and is the central producer and manager of military intelligence for the United States Department of Defense, employing over 16,500 U.S. military and civilian employees worldwide...
drafted a report, published on May 27, 2009, that listed a "Shah Mohammed" as having been "killed while fighting U.S. forces in Afghanistan".