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U.S. releases 12-year old detainee in Afghanistan

by Tina Kells | September 15, 2008 at 02:45 pm

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After two months in detention the U.S. military has released a 12-year old boy who was arrested with his mother after she allegedly shot at U.S. troops at a checkpoint in Afghanistan. The woman has since been accused of being a member of al-Qaida and remains in U.S. custody.

The 12-year-old son of a woman suspected of links to al-Qaida and facing charges in New York was freed Monday by Afghanistan and sent to his family in Pakistan, two months after he was detained with his mother.

Officials say the boy, Ali Hassan, and his mother, Aafia Siddiqui, were detained outside the governor's house in Afghanistan's Ghazni province in July. The American-educated Pakistani woman was then handed over to U.S. custody and flown to New York where she was accused of trying to kill U.S. personnel.

The U.S. indictment alleges that during Siddiqui's interrogation in Ghazni, the 36-year-old picked up a soldier's rifle, announced her "desire to kill Americans" and fired at U.S. soldiers and FBI agents. She was wounded by return fire.

When Siddiqui was arrested she was carrying a handwritten message that implicated her as being involved in a planned terrorist attack on U.S. soil. In the note, the Empire State Building in New York City was listed as a possible target. The note also warned of "mass casualty." She has not yet been charged with any sort of terrorism or conspiracy.

A spokesperson for the Afghanistan Foreign Ministry claims that Ali was never imprisoned, simply detained. Records show that he was placed in the custody of a prosecutor who deals with minors, and spent the 10 days prior to his release in an Afghan intelligence "guest house."

The boy is a dual American-Pakistani citizen, but has been released to the custody of his maternal relatives in Pakistan. He was flown to Islamabad on Monday and released to the care of Pakistani diplomats. Ali is said to have been traumatized by the experience.

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