Suleiman Abdullah Salim

Suleiman Abdullah Salim
Born	Stone Town, Tanzania
Occupation(s)	Fisherman, clothing shop assistant, water carrier, harbor pilot
Known for	Former detainee subjected to CIA extrajudicial detention and torture

Suleiman Abdullah Salim is a Tanzanian national who endured five years of extrajudicial detention within covert CIA black site facilities. The United States Senate Intelligence Committee identified him as one of the detainees subjected to the CIA's harshest forms of torture. Journalist James Risen of the New York Times reported that Salim was subjected to interrogation techniques despite being a black African, due to a mistaken identity confusion with an ethnically Arab Yemeni individual sharing a similar name.

Life before detention

Salim was born in Stone Town, Tanzania, and held diverse occupations such as fisherman, clothing shop assistant in Dar es Salaam, water carrier in Mombasa, and harbor pilot in Kismayu, Somalia. He resigned from his pilot position following disputes with local militia groups. In 2003, while employed as a driver for an associate of Somali warlord Mohammed Dheere, Salim was accused of debt to Dheere; after rejecting extortion demands, he was surrendered to the CIA.

Detention under CIA custody

The CIA initially documented his apprehension under the alias Suleiman Abdalla Salim Hemed, classifying him as Yemeni. Upon his handover to U.S. authorities, Salim reported being accused of modifying his physical appearance.

After release

On October 13, 2015, the American Civil Liberties Union initiated legal action against psychologists James E. Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, creators of the CIA’s interrogation program, representing Salim along with other former detainees. On July 28, 2017, U.S. District Judge Justin Lowe Quackenbush rejected requests for summary judgment, acknowledged that the defendants receive indemnity from the U.S. government, and recommended pursuing settlement negotiations prior to trial.