Mosa Zi Zemmori
Mosa Zi Zemmori | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 3, 1978 Wilrijk, Belgium |
| Occupation | Former detainee |
| Known for | Extrajudicial detention at Guantanamo Bay |
Mosa Zi Zemmori is a Belgian national who experienced extrajudicial detention at the United States' Guantanamo Bay facility located in Cuba. His assigned detainee number was 270. According to the Department of Defense, he was born on 3 July 1978 in Wilrijk, Belgium. He was returned to Belgium on 25 April 2005. Although early reports identified him as Moroccan or a Belgian of Moroccan descent, official documentation confirms his birth in Belgium.
Life
While media outlets frequently mention that Zemmori was captured in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Department of Defense records clarify that he initially surrendered to Pakistani authorities and was held in Pakistan prior to his transfer to a detention center in Kandahar.
Administrative Review Board
Individuals labeled as "enemy combatants" underwent yearly Administrative Review Board sessions designed to assess the potential risk they might pose if released or relocated, as well as to review factors relevant to the continuation of their detention.
Repatriation
On 25 April 2005, Zemmori was sent back to Belgium along with Mesut Sen. Upon arrival, Belgian officials temporarily detained him, according to reports from Reuters.
July 2015 arrest
In July 2015, Belgian law enforcement apprehended five individuals, including Zemmori and another former detainee from Guantanamo, on allegations of planning an armed robbery intended to finance recruitment efforts for fighters in Syria. The arrests occurred on 22 July and were publicly reported two days later. News coverage described Zemmori as a "37-year-old Belgian of Moroccan origin" or alternatively as a "Moroccan national born in Antwerp."
By May 2009, both Zemmori and the other ex-detainee were exonerated from all charges related to criminal conspiracy.
Open letter to President Biden
An open letter authored by Zemmori and six additional former Guantanamo detainees was published on 29 January 2021 in the New York Review of Books. The letter appealed directly to President Joe Biden with a request to shut down the detention facility.