Abdul Salam Zaeef

Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef (born 1968 in Kandahar) was the Afghan ambassador to Pakistan before the US invasion of Afghanistan.

He was detained in Pakistan in the fall of 2001 and held until 2005 in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp. The United Nations removed Zaeef from its list of terrorists in July 2010.

Capture and detention
Following the U.S. invasion, Zaeef was forced to end his news conferences, seized by Pakistani authorities, and handed over to American operatives. The Pajhwok Afghan News reported that Zaeef was freed from Guantanamo Bay.

Repatriation
Zaeef was released from Guantanamo in the summer of 2005.

An article in the Daily Times on 18 September 2005, Zaeef is quoted as saying that his release was "due to the effort of some friends". He did not attribute his release to his Combatant Status Review Tribunal or his 2005 Administrative Review Board hearing. He described the actions of these two bodies as illegal.

Abuse claims
Zaeef claims he was chained in illegal "stress positions" and subjected to sleep deprivation and extremes of temperature while held in the USA's Bagram Theater Detention Facility.

Call for a unity government
On 12 April 2007 Zaeef stirred controversy by calling for a unity-government in Afghanistan.

On Friday 6 June 2008 The Guardian published excerpts from an interview with Zaeef. It reported he claimed negotiations with the Taliban was the key to peace. And it reported he argued that the presence of foreign troops eroded the authority of the central government:

Move to Kabul
An article in Der Spiegel on 12 April 2007, reported that Zaeef had moved into a "...handsome guest house, located in the dusty modern neighborhood Khosh Hal Khan." The article in Der Spiegel goes on to state that the new home Karzai's government has provided Zaeef is around the corner from one occupied by former Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil. Der Spiegel described Zaeef's home as being guarded, inside and out, by a heavily armed security detail. Der Spiegel described both Zaeef and Muttawakil as regarded as among the more moderate former members of the Taliban.

Zaeff told the Chicago Tribune that Afghan security officials would not allow him to attend the mosque near his Kabul home.
 * {| class="wikitable" border="1"


 * "There is a mosque near my house. The government told me, 'Please don't go to the mosque,' for my security. If I can't go to the mosque, how can I work?"
 * "There is a mosque near my house. The government told me, 'Please don't go to the mosque,' for my security. If I can't go to the mosque, how can I work?"


 * }

McClatchy interview
On 15 June 2008 the McClatchy News Service published articles based on interviews with 66 former Guantanamo captives. McClatchy reporters interviewed Abdul Salam Zaeef. The McClatchy reports states that guards told him he was the "King of the prison". The McClatchy reports states that he took a lead role in the Guantanamo hunger strikes. The McClatchy reports states that guards in the Kandahar detention facility made him pointlessly move human excrement back and forth.

Saudi peace talks
Zaeef acknowledged being invited by Saudi King Abdullah to unofficially meet with other leading Afghan figures, from the Karzai government, the Taliban, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e-Islami and other former members of the Taliban. Zaeef denied this meeting should be characterized as "peace talks". He stated that none of the individuals at this meeting had been authorized to conduct negotiations. Zaeef denied anyone discussed Afghanistan at this meeting. According to The Age other figures who attended the meeting included former Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil and former Supreme Court Chief Justice Fazel Hadi Shinwari.

Publications
Zaeef released a book in the Pashto language, "A Picture of Guantanamo," detailing his claims of mistreatment at Guantanamo.

In October 2008, Abdul Salam Zaeef edited in Paris with the French journalist Jean-Michel Caradec'h, a recent book: "Prisonnier à Guantanamo". EGDV/Documents. 2008.

In January 2010, Abdul Salam Zaeef published a book: "My Life With the Taliban". Hurst Publishers and Columbia University Press. 2010. The book has been reviewed positively as offering a powerful look into what "drives" the Taliban.

Lawsuit
In October 2008, Zaeef said he would sue Pakistan for his arrest there in 2002.

Flees harassment by US Forces
On 9 April 2012, Al Jazeera reported that Zaeef had fled for his life. He fled to the United Arab Emirates. Al Jazeera quoted associates close to Zaeef who described repeated US attempts by US forces to raid Zaeef's house and seize him. Zaeef had been in protective custody by the Afghan government since his release from Guantanamo. Quoting Waheed Muzhda Al Jazeera wrote:"Zaeef feared for his life in the wake of the attempted raids on his home. Many of the Taliban prisoners freed from Guantanamo had been killed in night raids and that made Zaeef more nervous."