Taliban Calls for Release of Last Afghan Prisoner Held in Guantánamo

DID Press: Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has renewed calls for the United States to release Muhammad Rahim, described as the last Afghan detainee held at the Guantánamo Bay detention facility.

Mujahid said the issue has been consistently raised in all discussions between Taliban officials and U.S. representatives, stressing that Kabul continues to pursue the matter as a priority.

He stated: “Only one Afghan prisoner remains in Guantánamo, and the United States should release him as soon as possible,” adding that the Taliban consider his continued detention a humanitarian issue after nearly two decades.

U.S. authorities have not issued a new official response to the request. However, previous reports indicated that Washington does not consider Rahim eligible for release under prisoner exchange arrangements.

Muhammad Rahim, born in 1965 in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, was arrested in 2007 in Lahore, Pakistan, and transferred to the Guantánamo Bay detention center, established by the United States after the September 11 attacks.

U.S. officials have previously alleged that Rahim had links to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and other senior figures in the network in the early 2000s. His legal representatives, however, say no conclusive evidence or formal conviction has been presented against him.

His lawyer, James Connell, has previously stated that Rahim has been held without trial since 2008, arguing that his continued detention violates basic human rights.

Rahim’s family has also repeatedly appealed for his release. His mother has described him as innocent, saying he has been held for nearly 20 years without proven charges. His son, who was an infant at the time of his arrest, is now 18 years old and has grown up without his father.

Human rights reports and defense lawyers further allege that Rahim was subjected to harsh interrogation methods and torture during detention.