Painting, prison and two decades in Guantanamo
Arrested in a case of mistaken identity and labelled a terrorist, Pakistani taxi driver Ahmed Rabbani spent years in US detention without trial or charge. Art became his refuge.
In a case of mistaken identity, Pakistani taxi driver Ahmed Rabbani was arrested in 2002, labelled a terrorist and spent 21 years in US detention, including time in a CIA secret prison. Incarcerated without trial or charge, Ahmed was subject to enhanced interrogation, or what he describes as 62 different types of torture. When he was transferred to a cell in Guantanamo Bay, Ahmed would pick up paint and pastels and find solace through art – creating vistas he could only imagine.
Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producer: Maryam Maruf
Voiceover: Mohammed Hanif
Get in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707
(Photo: Ahmed Rabbani holding up one of his paintings created in Guantanamo Bay. Credit: BBC)
Last on
Broadcasts
- Mon 4 Mar 202412:06GMTBBC World Service
- Mon 4 Mar 202418:06GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Mon 4 Mar 202423:06GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Tue 5 Mar 202403:06GMTBBC World Service
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