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Guantanamo Through a Prisoner's Eyes

British-born Moazzam Begg spent nearly two years in Guantanamo Bay before he was released in 2005. He was classified as an enemy combatant of the United States.

Begg was never charged with a crime during his time in the prison. Through limited contact with lawyers, he learned that his family was petitioning both the British and United States governments to release him.

Now free, Begg tells Steve Inskeep that he "never ever was a threat to the security of the United States of America."

The Pentagon, however, says that Begg is still a dangerous man.

Begg agrees that he is dangerous.

"The danger now comes in the so-called PR war," he says. "I can speak about things [the Pentagon] thought, perhaps, that they could get away with."

Begg recently wrote the book Enemy Combatant: My Imprisonment at Guantanamo, Bagram, and Kandahar about his time at Guantanamo Bay and American air bases overseas. He recounts his journey from England to Pakistan and finally to Cuba, where he spent nearly two years in solitary confinement.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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