Mohamed Mazouz
Mohamed Mazouz | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 31, 1973 Casablanca, Morocco |
| Occupation | Former Guantanamo detainee |
| Known for | Detention at Guantanamo Bay; alleged terrorist activities |
Mohamed Mazouz is a Moroccan national who was subjected to extrajudicial detention by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba. His assigned Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 294. Born on December 31, 1973, in Casablanca, Morocco, he was officially labeled a terrorist by the Moroccan Ministry of Justice in 2023, accompanied by an international arrest warrant linked to alleged terrorist conduct.
Release
Mazouz was one of the 201 detainees freed prior to the conclusion of the Combatant Status Review Tribunals, which were established in August 2004 following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Rasul v. Bush. Moroccan officials conducted visits to Guantanamo to encourage detainees, including Mazouz, to cooperate, while reports suggested that U.S. personnel subjected detainees to harsher treatment.
April 2005 interview
In an interview published on April 11, 2005, by La Gazette du Maroc, Mazouz recounted details regarding his capture, detention conditions, and interrogation experiences. He explained that he traveled to Pakistan for marriage purposes and was apprehended there on August 26, 2001, in Karachi along with his brother-in-law. Following his arrest, Mazouz lost all contact with his wife.
He described severe abuse while held by Pakistani authorities, including torture without formal charges or explanation. After being handed over to U.S. custody at the Kandahar detention facility in December 2001, Mazouz reported being restrained with iron shackles for several weeks and enduring harsh treatment such as physical beatings, denial of food and water, and inability to maintain personal hygiene.
Mazouz also mentioned visits from individuals posing as Amnesty International representatives prior to his transfer; he suspected these visitors were actually counter-terrorism analysts. He criticized the International Committee of the Red Cross for its limited impact, suspecting it served U.S. interests by merely facilitating letter deliveries.
At Kandahar, Mazouz suffered repeated physical assaults, exposure to freezing conditions before interrogations, electric shocks, and forced immersions in cold water. He was subsequently transferred to the Bagram Collection Point, where he observed interrogation methods akin to those documented during the Abu Ghraib torture and abuse scandal in 2003—these included administration of psychotropic drugs and desecration of the Koran by American personnel.
On June 15, 2006, Mazouz was moved to Guantanamo Bay where he reported continued beatings, unexplained injections, and widespread distress among detainees caused by painful hemorrhoids resulting from invasive body cavity searches and forced enemas combined with drug administration.
Although U.S. authorities typically refrain from addressing specific allegations of mistreatment from Guantanamo detainees directly, they assert that all individuals in custody are treated humanely.
Moroccan arrest
On November 11, 2005, Mazouz was arrested along with former Guantanamo detainee Brahim Benchekroun and fifteen other Moroccan nationals.
Defense Intelligence Agency claims he "returned to terrorism"
The Defense Intelligence Agency asserted that Ibrahim Bin Shakaran resumed involvement in terrorist activities following his release.
The DIA stated:
Middle East Eye identified Mazouz, Mohamed Alami, and Brahim Benchekroun, all previously detained at Guantanamo, as members of Harakat Sham al-Islam, a group recruiting Moroccans for combat roles in Syria.