Akhdar Qasem Basit

Akhdar Qasem Basit is a Uyghur citizen of China who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts report Basit was born on November 14, 1973, in Ghulja, China.

Basit is one of approximately two dozen detainees from the Uyghur ethnic group.

Determined not to have been an Enemy Combatant
The Washington Post reports that Basit was one of 38 detainees who was determined not to have been an enemy combatant during his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. The Department of Defense refers to these men as No Longer Enemy Combatants.

Press reports
On June 8, 2007, in an interview in the Dallas Star-Telegram Basit described his health deteriorating in his Albanian refugee camp.

On June 15, 2008 the McClatchy News Service published articles based on interviews with 66 former Guantanamo captives. McClatchy reporters interviewed Akhdar Qasem Basit. The McClatchy interviews confirms the reports his health is failing:
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 * "Even in Guantanamo, I was strong. Look up the records: I did not need doctors. But now, everything has changed. I am sick every day; I am in pain every day. It is no secret why. I have lost hope."
 * "Even in Guantanamo, I was strong. Look up the records: I did not need doctors. But now, everything has changed. I am sick every day; I am in pain every day. It is no secret why. I have lost hope."


 * "I have not seen my daughter since she was 4 months old. When I arrived, I had hope, but it is clear I will never see her again. I will never again see my wife. I have no dreams for the future."


 * "It's sad, isn't it? We grow up believing America is the land of hope. And yet, that is who killed hope for me."


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