On May 8, 2008 AI Northern Ireland celebrated the book launch of Murat Kurnaz’s best-seller Five years of my life: A report from Guantánamo at the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival in Belfast at a sold-out Black Box.

Murat Kuraz is a Turkish national who was born in Germany in 1982. His prolonged detention in Guantánamo had been complicated by his status – lacking German citizenship, the German authorities had refused his return to Germany. The Turkish authorities had shown little interest in his case. It was only after intense lobbying from his family, lawyers and AI members around the world, including in his home town of Bremen, that the German authorities began to act on his behalf, finally paving the way for his return.

Murat Kuraz was arrested in Pakistan in November 2001. Soon afterwards he was transferred to US custody in Kandahar, Afghanistan. His family only learnt that he was held in Guantánamo in January 2002 and received the first letter from him in March that year.

After almost five years in detention, Murat was released on 24 August 2008 with no charges laid against him for any offence. To learn more about this case, please read an interview with the former detainee at Amnesty International USA’s website.