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Mohamedou Ould Slahi

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Mohamedou Ould Slahi
Born (1970-12-21) December 21, 1970 (age 55)
Mauritania
Occupation(s)Engineer, Author
Known forDetention at Guantánamo Bay without charges (2002–2016), author of Guantánamo Diary

Mohamedou Ould Slahi (; born December 21, 1970) is a Mauritanian engineer who was held at Guantánamo Bay detention camp without formal charges from 2002 until his release on October 17, 2016.[1]

In December 1990, Slahi journeyed to Afghanistan to aid the mujahideen.[2] He underwent training at an al Qaeda camp and pledged allegiance in March 1991. Shortly after, he returned to Germany and then made a brief return to Afghanistan in early 1992. Slahi has maintained that he cut ties with al-Qaeda after leaving Afghanistan; nevertheless, U.S. authorities claim he subsequently engaged in recruitment and support activities for al-Qaeda.[2] Between November 1999 and January 2000, he resided in Montreal, Canada, where the Canadian Security Intelligence Service investigated him due to suspected links to the attempted bombing at LAX. After this inquiry, he went back to Mauritania, where he was interrogated and ultimately cleared.

Following the September 11 attacks, U.S. scrutiny of Slahi intensified. On November 20, 2001, Mauritanian officials detained him for seven days during which FBI agents questioned him.[3] Subsequently, the CIA transferred him through extraordinary rendition to a Jordanian prison for eight months, where he reported experiencing torture. After spending two weeks in Afghanistan, he was relocated to Guantánamo Bay on August 4, 2002, under the authority of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force.[4] During his detention at Guantánamo, Slahi endured severe treatment including prolonged sleep deprivation, solitary confinement, physical assaults, and sexual humiliation—among these was a staged execution aboard a ship. In 2003, Lt. Col Stuart Couch declined to prosecute Slahi because his statements were obtained through torture and thus inadmissible under both U.S. and international legal standards.[5]

In 2005, attorneys Nancy Hollander and Theresa Duncan began representing Slahi, championing his right to due process despite facing criticism.[6] Judge James Robertson issued a writ of habeas corpus in 2010 that ordered Slahi's release on March 22, underscoring that mere associations do not warrant indefinite detention.[7] The Department of Justice appealed this decision; subsequently, the D.C. Circuit Court vacated the ruling and remanded the case for further examination on November 5, 2010.[2][8] No subsequent habeas hearing took place.

On July 14, 2016, a Periodic Review Board authorized Slahi’s release.[9] After more than fourteen years at Guantánamo, he was freed and repatriated to Mauritania on October 17, 2016.

During his incarceration, Slahi wrote a memoir in 2005 which was declassified with redactions in 2012 and later published as Guantánamo Diary in January 2015; it achieved international bestseller status.[10] He became the first detainee at Guantánamo to publish a memoir while still imprisoned.[11] In addition to this work, Slahi authored four more books during his detention but has been denied access to them since his release.[12]

1988–1999

Slahi demonstrated strong academic performance in Mauritania and, in 1988, was awarded a scholarship by the Carl Duisberg Society to pursue electrical engineering studies at the University of Duisburg-Essen in West Germany. In 1991, he traveled to Afghanistan to join the Mujahideen resistance against the communist regime, which had U.S. backing during the Soviet invasion. After receiving training at al Qaeda’s al Farouq camp near Khost, he pledged bayat allegiance to al Qaeda and adopted the kunya "Abu Musab," yet he returned to Germany without participating directly in the Afghan civil conflict.

In 1992, Slahi made a brief return to Afghanistan where he was assigned to a mortar unit in Gardez. Following the collapse of the Najibullah government, he went back to Germany. During his Guantanamo hearings, Slahi asserted that although he fought against the Afghan regime, he never engaged as an adversary of the United States, emphasizing that U.S. support for the Mujahideen was ongoing at that time.

Slahi’s cousin and former brother-in-law, Mahfouz Ould al-Walid (also known as Abu Hafs al-Mauritani), served as an al Qaeda spiritual guide and member of its Shura council before departing after 9/11. While al-Walid resided in Sudan in the mid-1990s, he twice requested Slahi send approximately $4,000 each time to his family in Mauritania. A 2010 habeas corpus ruling highlighted that the government’s allegations were based solely on Slahi’s unverified and coerced statements linking these transfers to al Qaeda activities. In 1998, U.S. intelligence intercepted a satellite phone conversation between Slahi and al-Walid that was traced back to bin Laden.

According to the 9/11 Commission Report, in 1999 Slahi advised three members of the Hamburg Cell to obtain training in Afghanistan prior to engaging in jihad in Chechnya. A federal court determined that Slahi provided accommodation for these individuals—including Ramzi bin al-Shibh—at his residence in Germany. Slahi contended this was merely an act of hospitality extended to fellow Muslims.

1999–2002

After German authorities declined to renew his visa, Slahi relocated to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in November 1999. Recognized as a hafiz, he was invited by a mosque imam to lead prayers during Ramadan. Ahmed Ressam, who was involved in the 2000 millennium attack conspiracy, attended the same mosque. Due to Slahi’s known association with U.S. intelligence through his cousin Mahfouz Ould al-Walid, suspicions arose that he may have influenced Ressam.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) monitored Slahi but found no evidence warranting arrest. A classified report from German intelligence concluded there was no connection between Slahi and either Ressam or any attacks. Frustrated by Canada’s refusal to detain him, the CIA worked with Mauritanian intelligence agencies to lure Slahi back by arranging for his mother to contact him under deceptive circumstances. On January 21, 2000, Slahi left Canada and was apprehended in Senegal at the request of U.S. authorities; he was interrogated regarding the millennium plot. Subsequently transferred to Mauritania for questioning by local officials and FBI agents, he was released after three weeks.

Starting in May 2000, Slahi took up employment as an electrical engineer with various companies in Mauritania. Following the September 11 attacks, U.S. attention on him intensified; he was detained again on September 29, 2001, and cooperated with interrogators on multiple occasions. From November 20, 2001, onward, he underwent seven consecutive days of questioning conducted jointly by Mauritanian authorities and FBI personnel.

The CIA then transferred Slahi to Jordan where he spent eight months under supervised detention in a Jordanian prison; during this time he alleges experiencing torture and being coerced into confessing involvement with the millennium plot. On July 19, 2002, custody of Slahi passed from the CIA to U.S. military officials at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan before he was flown to Guantanamo Bay detention facility on August 4, 2002.

Detention at Guantánamo Bay, 2002–2016

Designated as detainee number 760, Slahi was first confined at Camp Delta. In February 2003, agents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) conducted interviews with him. He was included among 14 detainees labeled as high-value detainees, for whom Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld approved the use of enhanced interrogation methods, techniques later identified as forms of torture. By January 2003, military interrogators intended to designate Slahi as their second "Special Project," employing an interrogation strategy akin to that applied to Mohammed al-Qahtani. Declassified records reveal that in late May he was placed in solitary confinement and endured mistreatment such as exposure to extreme cold, loud noises, sleep deprivation, forced physical positions, intimidation, and sexual degradation.

In February 2015, The Guardian disclosed that one of the interrogators was Richard Zuley, a homicide detective from Chicago Police serving on a Navy Reserve detail. Zuley was subject to civil litigation over allegations of comparable abuses in Chicago.

Slahi was relocated to Camp Echo in September 2003. Documentation from discussions between General Geoffrey Miller and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed that Slahi was denied ICRC access on grounds of "military necessity."

Marine Corps attorney Lt. Col V. Stuart Couch was assigned as Slahi’s prosecutor but withdrew in May 2004 after reviewing the evidence. Although Couch acknowledged that Slahi bore responsibility for violence, he cited confessions obtained under torture and the absence of independent verification as reasons preventing him from moving forward.

On November 9, 2006, Slahi penned a letter published by The Wall Street Journal asserting that all admissions were coerced through torture and dismissing demands to provide detailed interrogation accounts as pointless.

In 2005, criminal defense attorney Nancy Hollander joined Theresa Duncan on Slahi’s legal team, championing his entitlement to a fair trial despite facing public opposition.

Guantánamo Diary

Beginning in 2005, Slahi authored a 466-page memoir recounting his time at Guantánamo, written in English—a language he acquired during detention. Following legal proceedings, the US government declassified the manuscript in 2012 with extensive redactions. Portions were published in Slate as a three-part series in April 2013, accompanied by an interview with Col. Morris Davis, former Guantánamo military prosecutor. Released as a book in January 2015, it marked the first memoir issued by a detainee still held at Guantánamo. The narrative exposes severe interrogations and torture tactics including staged executions and physical abuse, becoming an international bestseller. Prison authorities prohibited Slahi from receiving a copy.

Joint Review Task Force

After assuming office in January 2009, President Barack Obama reaffirmed his intention to close Guantánamo Bay and established a task force comprising six agencies to assess detainees’ cases. The 2010 report recommended prosecuting Slahi via military commission. For individuals considered too dangerous for release but lacking adequate evidence for trial, the task force proposed Periodic Review Board hearings. In 2013, Slahi was among 71 detainees eligible for such review and was granted a hearing set for June 2016.

Request to Resume Interrogations

U.S. District Court Judge James Robertson directed the Department of Defense to suspend all interrogations of Slahi during the course of his habeas corpus proceedings. In October 2014, officials at Guantánamo seized all of Slahi's confidential legal documents and personal effects, including his computer. They also took away his "comfort items," such as correspondence from his deceased mother, as a means to coerce him into consenting to renewed interrogations. Slahi later disclosed that authorities proposed returning these possessions if he agreed to be questioned, despite interrogations having been prohibited for six years. Prosecutors involved in the Ahmed al-Darbi case sought to question Slahi regarding al-Darbi.

Allegations of Torture

Slahi's final FBI interrogation occurred on May 22, 2003, when an agent cautioned that this would be his last session before more severe treatment commenced. Three months later, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld authorized the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques". During this period, Slahi was subjected to solitary confinement, exposure to extreme temperatures, physical assaults, and sexual degradation. On one occasion, he was blindfolded and faced a simulated execution while at sea.

A 2007 report from the Wall Street Journal referenced the 2005 Schmidt-Furlow investigation into detainee mistreatment, describing an incident where a masked interrogator threatened Slahi with death-related imagery. Despite a December 2002 directive banning certain interrogation methods, Slahi endured repeated application of these forbidden techniques during the summer of 2003.

In March 2003, Department of Justice legal advisor John Yoo issued a memorandum asserting that U.S. anti-torture statutes did not apply outside American territory. The Bush administration relied on this opinion to defend the implementation of harsh interrogation practices at Guantanamo Bay and in Iraq. By April 2003, Rumsfeld had approved 24 specific interrogation methods for use at Guantanamo. However, in June 2004, the Office of Legal Counsel rescinded Yoo's memos and advised government agencies against relying on them.

In 2008, attorneys representing Slahi threatened legal action against officials from Mauritania, Jordan, and the United States over allegations of torture.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services published an Inquiry into the Treatment of Detainees in U.S. Custody in November 2008 that detailed detainee treatment at Guantanamo prior to 2005.

A 2010 article in the Washington Post identified Slahi and Tariq al-Sawah as among the most valuable informants held at Guantanamo. They were housed separately within a secure compound offering privileges such as gardening and writing materials, isolated from other detainees in an environment designed for their protection and incentive.

Habeas Corpus Litigation

In Rasul v. Bush (2004), the United States Supreme Court determined that detainees at Guantánamo possessed the right to file habeas corpus petitions challenging their detention. Following this decision, habeas petitions were submitted on Slahi’s behalf, leading the Department of Defense to disclose 27 pages of unclassified records from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) in July 2005.

The Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA) prohibited detainees from accessing U.S. federal courts, resulting in a stay on all pending habeas corpus cases. However, in Boumediene v. Bush (2008), the Supreme Court reinstated detainees’ rights to pursue habeas petitions and access federal courts, allowing previously stayed cases to proceed.

Prior to submitting briefs for the case, the U.S. government withdrew accusations that Slahi had been involved in the Millennium Plot or had foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks.

Release order

On March 22, 2010, U.S. District Court Judge James Robertson approved Slahi's habeas corpus petition and ordered his release. This decision was met with disapproval from multiple Republican officials. Slahi became the 34th detainee to be released following a federal judge's review of habeas submissions. The unclassified opinion was officially documented on April 9, 2010.

Addressing the government's assertion that Slahi offered "purposeful and material support" to al Qaeda, Judge Robertson remarked:

Salahi might have shown sympathy toward al-Qaida and provided occasional assistance to al-Qaida or its affiliates. Nonetheless, such involvement was intermittent and absent at the time of capture. The legal requirement is support "in hostilities against U.S. Coalition partners," which this evidence fails to establish.[7]: 5 

Regarding whether Slahi was "part of" al Qaeda at the moment of capture, Judge Robertson observed that the law does not provide a definitive test and depends on the adequacy of evidence:

No precedent offers a clear-cut standard for determining who was "part of" al-Qaida at capture. This matter turns on when a detainee must have been affiliated with al-Qaida to justify detention; it is undisputed that Salahi was once a committed member.[7]: 6 

The judge further evaluated the evidentiary burden and the credibility of coerced or hearsay statements.[7] His conclusion was:

The government bore the responsibility to present evidence beyond intelligence reports demonstrating it was more likely than not that Salahi was "part of" al-Qaida’s command structure at detention. This standard was not satisfied.[7]: 31 

Appeal

The Department of Justice filed an appeal against this ruling. Oral arguments took place on September 17, 2010, before a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Judge David S. Tatel questioned whether pledging bayat in 1991 could justify hostile actions against the United States ten years later, noting that during that period, both the U.S. and al-Qaeda shared opposition to Afghanistan’s communist regime. The panel deliberated on either remanding the case back to District Court or overturning the decision in light of changing D.C. Circuit precedents concerning detention standards.

On November 5, 2010, the D.C. Circuit vacated the previous judgment and sent the case back to District Court for additional factual determination, offering guidance for habeas corpus reviews involving detainees. The court outlined critical issues to be addressed:

  • Whether Slahi comprehended he was recruiting for al-Qaeda’s "jihad" targeting the United States,
  • The content of his communications with bin al-Shibh about jihad in Afghanistan,
  • Whether al-Qaeda assigned him communication-related tasks domestically or internationally,
  • His participation in planning computer-based "cyberattacks," and
  • If he remained a trusted al-Qaeda operative up until capture.

Following this directive, no hearings were conducted by the District Court.

Slahi underwent his initial Periodic Review Board evaluation on June 2, 2016; one month afterward, a recommendation for his release was issued.

Life following detention

After spending more than 14 years held without formal charges, Slahi was freed and returned to Mauritania on October 17, 2016.

In 2017, Holly Williams, a journalist from CBS News, conducted the first televised interview with Slahi since his return, which was broadcast on 60 Minutes on March 12. During this interview, Slahi conveyed forgiveness toward those involved in his imprisonment. In April 2022, he initiated a $35 million lawsuit against the Canadian government, claiming that inaccurate intelligence from Canadian officials played a role in his detention beginning in 2002.

In May 2018, Steve Wood, a former guard from Guantanamo who had overseen Slahi’s detention, visited him in Mauritania during Ramadan; their meeting was documented in the 2020 short film My Brother's Keeper.

On January 29, 2021, Slahi joined six other ex-Guantanamo detainees in issuing an open letter to President Joe Biden, advocating for the closure of the detention facility.

February 2021 saw the release of a cinematic adaptation of Slahi’s memoir entitled The Mauritanian, directed by Kevin Macdonald and featuring performances by Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Shailene Woodley.

Personal background

As of 2019, despite assurances made at the time of his release, Slahi had not regained possession of his passport. This restriction hindered his ability to travel outside Mauritania for medical treatment or to visit his newborn son residing in Germany. Following his graduation in Germany in 1999, he registered as unemployed but engaged in undeclared business activities, which resulted in a suspended sentence for social fraud and an indefinite ban on re-entry.

External links

Additional resources

  • The Terror Courts: Rough Justice at Guantanamo Bay authored by Jess Bravin, published by Yale University Press in 2013, ISBN 9780300191349
  • The Torture Report: What the Documents Say about America's Post 9/11 Torture Program written by Larry Siems, released by OR Books in 2012, ISBN 978-1-935928-55-3
  • Ben Taub, "Guantánamo's Darkest Secret," featured in The New Yorker, April 15, 2019
  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Guardian2016-10-17
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named dccir
  3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named der
  4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named judgedemolished
  5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named WSJ31Mar2007
  6. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named MIRAGE
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named habeas opinion
  8. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named rosenberg1
  9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named NYTimes2016-07-21
  10. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named TheGuardian2015-07-29
  11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flood
  12. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named NY
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