The Portraits of Gitmo Detainees

Abdullah Hekmat, 30
Captured by the warlord Dostum and handed over to the Americans, Hekmat was charged with being a member of the Taliban, though he says he was forced into cooperating with them. "I spent over 7 years in the prison for nothing," he says, "and in the end all I got from the Americans was that they were sorry. They tortured me, broke my arm, kept me in a very cold air-conditioned room without clothes until I got sick and had to go to the hospital. The worst thing was when my wife died because she said she was suffering too much and didn't know if I was ever going to be released. My three children had no parents after she died and I was in prison." Hekmat was released in November, 2008. Photo taken February 4, 2009.

• Defending the Detainees