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Long-detained Afghan witness testifies
A gaunt Afghan man detained in the United States for 14 months without criminal charges as a witness in a federal bribery case finally told his story Wednesday, disavowing any knowledge of kickbacks that paved the way for contracts at Bagram air base.
Ziaulhaq, 40, flew to the United States in August 2008 for what he thought was a celebration honoring businesses in war-torn Afghanistan. Instead, he told the lawyers assembled in a Chicago courtroom, the invitation was an elaborate ruse by law enforcement agents, who held him in jail for 21 days. He and two countrymen now live in an extended-stay motel in a gritty industrial area near Chicago's Midway Airport, at the government's expense. And lawyers said Wednesday that Ziaulhaq may not be cleared to return home until mid-November.
Wearing a casual black windbreaker, black pants and a white shirt, Ziaulhaq, who uses just one name, spoke for about two hours, with his remarks translated into English. He gestured with his hands while his face, under a scraggly black beard, bore signs of annoyance as the questions from federal prosecutors persisted.