STORY: Afghan prisoner returns home after 20 years in U.S. custody
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 13, 2025
DATELINE: Feb. 17, 2025
LENGTH: 00:01:46
LOCATION: CHAPARHAR, Afghanistan
CATEGORY: POLITICS/SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Khan Mohammad and villagers in Hadia Khil Village, Afghanistan
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Pashto): KHAN MOHAMMAD, Former prisoner
3. various of Khan Mohammad and villagers in Hadia Khil Village, Afghanistan
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Pashto): KHAN MOHAMMAD, Former prisoner
5. various of Khan Mohammad and villagers in Hadia Khil Village, Afghanistan
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Pashto): KHAN MOHAMMAD, Former prisoner

STORYLINE:

Hadia Khil Village, Afghanistan

Khan Mohammad, 57, said that he had been detained for nearly 20 years by the U.S. military without committing any crime.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Pashto): KHAN MOHAMMAD, Former prisoner
"They (the Americans) accused me of orchestrating a major conspiracy to attack Jalalabad airport and killing many Americans. But I did nothing. I completely denied the allegations."

Khan said that in 2006, U.S. troops captured him, and then placed him in a small room at Jalalabad airport before transferring him to the U.S. military base in Bagram.

From Bagram, Khan was sent to Washington, D.C. for further interrogation.

Following a court judgment, Khan was sentenced to life imprisonment in California.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Pashto): KHAN MOHAMMAD, Former prisoner
"My story is a long one. In Bagram, I was like the other prisoners. Then they (the Americans) transferred me to the United States. The journey was terrifying. They tied my hands and feet, blindfolded me, and blocked my ears. The distance was long, and I was in pain the whole time.
Prison is a place of suffering. In Bagram, there were no visits and the prisoners could not communicate with their families. Each tiny cell, roughly 5 meters wide and 6 meters long, was crammed with 15 to 20 prisoners. The days and nights blurred together. You couldn't tell whether it was morning or evening."

In January, Khan was released and returned home as part of a prisoner exchange deal between the United States and the Afghan interim government.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Pashto): KHAN MOHAMMAD, Former prisoner
"My children were small when I was arrested. After my release and returning home, I couldn't recognize any of them until they introduced themselves one by one, from the eldest to the youngest."

Khan, now the head of a 10-member family, said that "freedom is more precious than anything".

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Chaparhar, Afghanistan.
(XHTV)