According to his lawyers Gazzar worked for the Saudi Red Crescent, and was injured during his one and only visit to Afghanistan to deliver humanitarian aid. He claimed sympathetic Pakistani dignitaries visited him in the Pakistani hospital where his wounds were treated, but that he was nevertheless falsely denounced and sold to the US for a bounty. He was first held in a U.S prison in Kandahar where he according to lawyers "was subject to severe beatings, exposure to freezing temperatures, sleep deprivation for days on end, and suspension by the wrists." He was injured during the American aerial bombardment of Afghanistan, and had his leg amputated above the knee by Guantanamo medical staff after i had become gangrenous from lack of care. He stood accused of training and fighting in Kashmir.
On July 12, 2006 the magazine Mother Jones provided excerpts from the transcripts of a selection of the Guantanamo detainees. Al Gazzar was one of the detainees profiled. According to the article his transcript contained the following exchange:
algazzar: I am disappointed with this tribunal because if I am in a court and you accuse me of anything I should be allowed to know what the accusations are and to see the evidence. You tell me that these accusations are unclassified but there are other classified accusations. How can I defend myself if I don’t know what the evidence is about the other accusations?... tribunal member: If I can clarify a little bit before you start. These are all the accusations. What we will get in the classified session is in theory evidence to support these accusations, but there are no other accusations against you besides what is listed here. algazzar: I understand that but what I mean is if you say I am an enemy combatant and you say you have evidence, I don’t get to see it. Then I will stay here…. tribunal member: Do you have any theories about why the government and the Pakistani intel folks would sell you out and turn you over to the Americans? algazzar:Come on, man, you know what happened. In Pakistan you can buy people for $10. So what about $5,000? tribunal member: So they sold you? algazzar: Yes.
Canadian journalist, and former special assistant to US President George W. Bush, David Frum, published an article based on his own reading of the transcripts from the Combatant Status Review Tribunals, on November 11, 2006. It was Frum who coined the term "Axis of evil" for use in a speech he wrote for Bush. Al Gazzar's transcript was one of the nine Frum briefly summarized. His comment on Al Gazzar was: Frum came to the conclusion that all nine of the men whose transcript he summarized had obviously lied. He did not, however, state how he came to the conclusion they lied. His article concluded with the comment:
