Airat Vakhitov

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Airat Vakhitov is a Russian held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba. [Former Gitmo prisoners arrested in Russia, rights group says], The Jurist, August 31 2005 Vakhitov is a muslim from a Turkic ethnic group. He was repatriated with six other Russians in February 2004.

Russian authorities releaased the detainees after investigations into whether they had broken any Russian laws.

Vakhitov spoke publicly on June 28 2005 about torture in Guantanamo when he announced he was planning to sue the United States for his mistreatment. [Russian who was kept at Guantanamo sues U.S. government], Rian.ru, June 28 2005 He was invited, by Amnesty International, to speak about Guantanamo torture, in London, on November 2, 2002.

Geidar Dzhemal, chairman of the Islamic Committee of Russia, reported that he was hosting Vakhitov, and another former Guantanamo detainee, Rustam Akhmyarov, following threats by security officials. [Russian Talibs Found Through London], Kommersnt, August 29 2005 According to Dzhemal the security officials had visited Vakhitov, and warned him that he should only talk about torture in Guantanamo Bay, not Russian torture. Dzhemal reported that security officials subsequently seized Vakhitov and Akhmyarov from his apartment on August 29 2005. He called their seizure a kidnapping because they refused to show their identification. He predicted that the pair would be arrested on trumped up charges, to curtail their human rights activities.

The pair were released from detention on September 2 2005. [Former Guantanamo Prisoners Freed From Russian Jail]. Mosnews, September 2 2005

But they were subsequently rearrested on charges of playing a role in the destruction of a natural gas pipeline, near the Volga River, in January 2005.[Former Gitmo prisoners arrested in Russia, rights group says], The Jurist, August 31 2005 After their conviction they were sentenced to between 11 and 15 years imprisonment.

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