Gitmo prisoner finds release in art

Visitors admiring the paintings made by Rabban at the exhibition in Karachi. — AFP

WHEN Ahmed Rabbani ran out of paint to satisfy his artistic yearnings during 20 years of incarceration at Guantanamo Bay, he turned to whatever came to hand – dirt, coffee grinds and even spices such as turmeric from the prison canteen.

“Through painting, I would feel myself outside Guantanamo,” the 53-year-old Pakistani said at an exhibition of his work in the port city of Karachi recently.