Mourad Benchellali
Mourad Benchellali | |
|---|---|
| Born | France |
| Occupation(s) | Former detainee, author |
| Known for | Detention at Guantanamo Bay, author of book on imprisonment experiences |
Mourad Benchellali is a French national who was apprehended by Pakistani authorities and subsequently held at the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camp. His assigned Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 161.
According to reports, it was his older brother who persuaded Mourad and a companion, Nizar Sassi, to journey to Afghanistan. In July 2004, Benchellali was transferred from American to French custody. Although initially convicted in France, his verdict was later overturned, leading to his release in February 2009. Subsequently, on February 17, 2010, the Court of Cassation mandated a retrial for five former detainees, including Benchellali.
Narratives of his imprisonment
Benchellali authored a book recounting his experiences traveling to Afghanistan, his capture, and time in detention. Following the initial suicides at Guantanamo, he penned an opinion piece for the New York Times entitled "Detainees in despair".
He recounted spending two months at an al Qaeda training camp in 2001 after acting on his brother’s suggestion. Upon completing the training, he sought to return to France but was delayed due to the September 11 attacks and subsequent border closures. He crossed into Pakistan via an unmonitored mountain pass and was shortly thereafter detained.
Benchellali maintained that the majority of Guantanamo detainees lacked proof of hostile activities against the US or its allies. He highlighted the unfairness of a system incapable of either releasing the innocent or prosecuting the guilty, expressing a wish for just adjudication rather than mere liberation.
The McClatchy interview
On June 15, 2008, the McClatchy News Service released articles based on interviews with 66 former Guantanamo detainees, including Mourad Benchellali in France.[1][2] Benchellali admitted being born into a radical family environment but denied personally holding radical beliefs:
He explained that his brother deceived him into traveling to Afghanistan where he attended a training camp centered on prayer, lectures about jihad, physical exercises, and some weapons training conducted without actual firearms.[2] He also described an incident involving a female interrogator who "undressed in front of him as she purred questions."[2]
Legal proceedings in France
In 2007, Benchellali along with four other French nationals were found guilty of "criminal association with a terrorist enterprise."[3] Their convictions were overturned on appeal in February 2009 because they were based on interrogations carried out by French security agents at Guantanamo rather than by judicial authorities.[4] On February 17, 2010, the Court of Cassation ordered that the five men face a new trial.[5]
Efforts to subpoena Commandant Geoffrey Miller
In February 2014, Mourad Benchellali and Nizar Sassi requested a subpoena compelling testimony from Geoffrey D. Miller, former Commandant of Guantanamo Bay.[6][7] Their legal representatives contended that Miller authorized interrogation methods that breached international law and amounted to war crimes.
The French judiciary scheduled Miller’s testimony for March 2016.[6] Miller failed to appear; lawyer William Bourdon described this as "a dual act of contempt against the French judiciary," citing Miller’s refusal both to attend and to clarify his or the US government’s involvement.
Former Pentagon Chief Legal Counsel William J. Haynes was slated to testify in October 2016.[6]
See also
- Nizar Sassi
- Imad Kanouni
- Brahim Yadel
- Karim Bourti
- A Profile of 517 Detainees through Analysis of Department of Defense Data
External links
- Analysis on former Guantánamo detainees exposes ongoing mistreatment and intelligence shortcomings Andy Worthington
- McClatchy News Service - video
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