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Now Free, Mohamedou Ould Slahi is pictured here at the U.S. military's Guantanamo Bay Detention Center. (Photo courtesy of the International Committee of the Red Cross)
Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who documented his torture and imprisonment in the 2015 Guantanamo Diary, on Monday was finally returned home to his native Mauritania.
Upon his release, Slahi said, "I feel grateful and indebted to the people who have stood by me. I have come to learn that goodness is transnational, transcultural, and trans-ethnic. I'm thrilled to reunite with my family."
One of Guantanamo's longest-held detainees, Slahi's transfer comes 14 years after he was first brought to the offshore U.S. military prison, where he was held without charge or trial. In his critically-acclaimed memoir, the 44-year-old electrical engineer recounted his "endless world tour" of CIA black sites in Jordan, Afghanistan, and eventually Cuba, where he was abused and tortured.
Slahi's "odyssey...began in 2001 when, at the behest of the U.S. government, Mauritanian authorities detained Slahi after he voluntarily went in for questioning," the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) noted on Monday.
In a column, Hina Shamsi, one of Slahi's attorneys and director of the ACLU's National Security Project, detailed some of his ordeal:
Mohamedou was one of two so-called "Special Projects" whose cruel treatment Rumsfeld personally approved. The abuse he suffered included beatings, extreme isolation, sleep deprivation, frigid rooms, shackling in stress positions, and threats against both Mohamedou and his mother, to whom he was very close. Mohamedou's mother died in 2012, without ever seeing her son again.
In 2010, a federal district court judge determined Mohamedou's detention was unlawful and ordered him released. The U.S. government successfully appealed that decision, and the habeas case is still pending.
Looking forward, Shamsi said, "All of us on Mohamedou's team are focused on ensuring he has a cushion of love, support, counseling, and space to adjust after 14 long years in which he was denied his human rights. We already know how resilient Mohamedou is." She further noted he now plans to "write and work, establish a charity, and care for his family."
The military's Periodic Review Board cleared Slahi for release in July of this year. Among the evidence submitted in his favor was a letter of support by a former U.S. military guard who was assigned to Slahi for 10 months at at Guantanamo.
"We are overjoyed for Mohamedou and his family, and his release brings the U.S. one man closer to ending the travesty that is Guantanamo," Shamsi added in a press statement. "Dozens of other men still remain trapped in Guantanamo. With time running out, President Obama must double down and not just close the prison, but end the unlawful practice of indefinite detention that it represents."
In fact, 60 prisoners remain in Guantanamo, 19 of whom have been cleared for release.
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who documented his torture and imprisonment in the 2015 Guantanamo Diary, on Monday was finally returned home to his native Mauritania.
Upon his release, Slahi said, "I feel grateful and indebted to the people who have stood by me. I have come to learn that goodness is transnational, transcultural, and trans-ethnic. I'm thrilled to reunite with my family."
One of Guantanamo's longest-held detainees, Slahi's transfer comes 14 years after he was first brought to the offshore U.S. military prison, where he was held without charge or trial. In his critically-acclaimed memoir, the 44-year-old electrical engineer recounted his "endless world tour" of CIA black sites in Jordan, Afghanistan, and eventually Cuba, where he was abused and tortured.
Slahi's "odyssey...began in 2001 when, at the behest of the U.S. government, Mauritanian authorities detained Slahi after he voluntarily went in for questioning," the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) noted on Monday.
In a column, Hina Shamsi, one of Slahi's attorneys and director of the ACLU's National Security Project, detailed some of his ordeal:
Mohamedou was one of two so-called "Special Projects" whose cruel treatment Rumsfeld personally approved. The abuse he suffered included beatings, extreme isolation, sleep deprivation, frigid rooms, shackling in stress positions, and threats against both Mohamedou and his mother, to whom he was very close. Mohamedou's mother died in 2012, without ever seeing her son again.
In 2010, a federal district court judge determined Mohamedou's detention was unlawful and ordered him released. The U.S. government successfully appealed that decision, and the habeas case is still pending.
Looking forward, Shamsi said, "All of us on Mohamedou's team are focused on ensuring he has a cushion of love, support, counseling, and space to adjust after 14 long years in which he was denied his human rights. We already know how resilient Mohamedou is." She further noted he now plans to "write and work, establish a charity, and care for his family."
The military's Periodic Review Board cleared Slahi for release in July of this year. Among the evidence submitted in his favor was a letter of support by a former U.S. military guard who was assigned to Slahi for 10 months at at Guantanamo.
"We are overjoyed for Mohamedou and his family, and his release brings the U.S. one man closer to ending the travesty that is Guantanamo," Shamsi added in a press statement. "Dozens of other men still remain trapped in Guantanamo. With time running out, President Obama must double down and not just close the prison, but end the unlawful practice of indefinite detention that it represents."
In fact, 60 prisoners remain in Guantanamo, 19 of whom have been cleared for release.
Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who documented his torture and imprisonment in the 2015 Guantanamo Diary, on Monday was finally returned home to his native Mauritania.
Upon his release, Slahi said, "I feel grateful and indebted to the people who have stood by me. I have come to learn that goodness is transnational, transcultural, and trans-ethnic. I'm thrilled to reunite with my family."
One of Guantanamo's longest-held detainees, Slahi's transfer comes 14 years after he was first brought to the offshore U.S. military prison, where he was held without charge or trial. In his critically-acclaimed memoir, the 44-year-old electrical engineer recounted his "endless world tour" of CIA black sites in Jordan, Afghanistan, and eventually Cuba, where he was abused and tortured.
Slahi's "odyssey...began in 2001 when, at the behest of the U.S. government, Mauritanian authorities detained Slahi after he voluntarily went in for questioning," the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) noted on Monday.
In a column, Hina Shamsi, one of Slahi's attorneys and director of the ACLU's National Security Project, detailed some of his ordeal:
Mohamedou was one of two so-called "Special Projects" whose cruel treatment Rumsfeld personally approved. The abuse he suffered included beatings, extreme isolation, sleep deprivation, frigid rooms, shackling in stress positions, and threats against both Mohamedou and his mother, to whom he was very close. Mohamedou's mother died in 2012, without ever seeing her son again.
In 2010, a federal district court judge determined Mohamedou's detention was unlawful and ordered him released. The U.S. government successfully appealed that decision, and the habeas case is still pending.
Looking forward, Shamsi said, "All of us on Mohamedou's team are focused on ensuring he has a cushion of love, support, counseling, and space to adjust after 14 long years in which he was denied his human rights. We already know how resilient Mohamedou is." She further noted he now plans to "write and work, establish a charity, and care for his family."
The military's Periodic Review Board cleared Slahi for release in July of this year. Among the evidence submitted in his favor was a letter of support by a former U.S. military guard who was assigned to Slahi for 10 months at at Guantanamo.
"We are overjoyed for Mohamedou and his family, and his release brings the U.S. one man closer to ending the travesty that is Guantanamo," Shamsi added in a press statement. "Dozens of other men still remain trapped in Guantanamo. With time running out, President Obama must double down and not just close the prison, but end the unlawful practice of indefinite detention that it represents."
In fact, 60 prisoners remain in Guantanamo, 19 of whom have been cleared for release.