Via Southern District of Florida Blog: Taj Mohammad was a goat shepherd in the mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan. His tribe, the Gudjers, are nomads. He got in a fight with his cousin and hit him with a stick. His cousin's family, in retaliation, claimed he was a member of the Taliban. Unbeknownst to Taj, his cousin had been working laying pipe for the American military. They came to question Taj, arrested him and took him to the prison at Bagram AFB, and then shipped him to Guantanamo where he was held for four years.

The Defenders began representing Taj about a year ago and, after security clearances were approved, Paul Rashkind began to uncover evidence and develop a strategy to obtain his release. Just 14 days ago, Rashkind and Cone filed a set of classified challenges to Taj's continued detention, explaining why he should be released now. Last night, on the eve of the military hearing, Taj was on a plane back to Afghanistan. He was released to his family earlier today. Rashkind commented, "America was not a safer place while he was detained, but we can certainly feel better about ourselves now that he is home."

Kudos to defenders Paul Rashkind and Tim Cone for their victory.