IV. Experiences of families and ex-detainees After a while I lost all hope that I would ever leave Bagram. I accepted that I would never be free. Sometimes the soldiers would tell me I would be released; but I never believed them. Jibran, ex-detainee released from the DFIP in 2009 53 Who will answer for the nine years of illegal detention the Americans have put him in? They locked him up without any reason. Where in the world is that considered justice? Imran, brother of current DFIP detainee 54 After years of detention without charge or trial, and with no end in sight, detainees are losing all hope of ever returning home. The effects of their indefinite detention are felt in Pakistan. Their families have to bear the financial, emotional and social impact of their absence. With little information about their relatives’ cases, and the review and repatriation processes, families of current detainees feel powerless. Though the United States has already handed over the vast majority of Afghan detainees to Afghan authorities—a substantial number of whom have now been charged and tried or released—Pakistani detainees still face an unknown future. 55 Detainees and their families feel abandoned by their own government, which has failed to provide them with information and for years done little to secure their release. They are also angry at the U.S. government for what they view as unjust detention, a lack of real due process, and for leaving detainees trapped in a legal limbo, unsure of when, how, or if they will ever have their day in court, or be reunited with their families. a) Detainees in Despair After years of detention without trial, and with no change in their circumstances, detainees have little faith in the U.S. detainee review and repatriation process. 56 They express distrust of their U.S. military representatives and criticize the quality of evidence presented against them. Even when detainees are “cleared” for transfer or release by DRBs, they nevertheless remain in detention, often for many years. 57 With their fate left to political negotiations over repatriation, many detainees have lost hope that their cases will ever be resolved, and are growing increasingly desperate. Ayaz, a boyish man barely in his 20s, is one of the lucky few to have been released from the DFIP. In 2005, at only 15 years of age, Ayaz travelled to Afghanistan and found work in a restaurant. According to Ayaz, he had been working at the restaurant for several weeks when one morning U.S. 53 Justice Project Pakistan interview with Jibran, November 2012 (real name, location withheld). Justice Project Pakistan interview with Imran, April 2013 (real name, location withheld). 55 Azam Ahmed & Habib Zahori, “Afghanistan frees detainees in show of sovereignty before Karzai visits U.S.”, The New York Times, 4 January, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/05/world/asia/afghanistan-releasesdetainees-ahead-of-trip-by-karzai-to-washington.html?ref=asia&_r=0. 56 Human Rights First, “Detained and denied in Afghanistan”, p. 13; Andrea Prasow, “The Bagram Detainee Review Boards”; Amnesty International, “The ‘New’ Bagram Unveiled: But Will There be Change”; Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and Open Society Foundations, “Torture, Transfers, and Denial of Due Process”. 57 The term “cleared” here refers to individuals who have been recommended for transfer or release by the DRB, at least once. 54 18