We got to the site at sunrise; the sky was a hazy, muted orange, from wildfires burning to the south. The room was large and well-furnished, Salahi wrote, with a portrait of the President conveying the weakness of the law and the strength of the government. In the course of the next several days, Abdellahi and his men, citing the concerns of the American government, interrogated Salahi about his time in Afghanistan, his contact with his cousin Abu Hafs, and the Millennium Plot. All his friends and family knew him as the guy who was guarding a high-value detainee, and really proud of it, Wood told me. The host, who was a government official, grew agitated, pulled me aside, and urged me not to mention that I had ever been to his house. [1] Slahi escreveu um livro de memrias em 2005 enquanto estava preso, o qual o governo dos EUA desclassificou em 2012 com inmeras . Around that time, Abu Hafs explained, it became clear to him that the Mauritanian President would be open to his return from Iran. A few weeks later, Iranian spies told Abu Hafs to call other Al Qaeda officials and inform them that they would be welcome in Iranalthough, like him, they would live with their wives and children under a form of house arrest, sometimes in prisons, sometimes in lavish compounds and hotels, always in the company of the Revolutionary Guard. In Guantnamo Diary, Mohamedou Ould Slahi describes the months of brutal interrogation, sleep deprivation, beatings, starvation, and sexual assault he endured at the U.S. government's notorious detention center in Cuba. I was living literally in terror. When Wood agreed to talk about Salahi for a TV documentary, Wendys parents staged an intervention. But, in practice, IRFing was often done as a form of revenge, initiated liberallyfor example, when a detainee was found to have two plastic cups instead of one, or refused to drink a bottle of Ensure, because he thought that he was being given poison. Once they do, he will disappear and never be heard from again. Salahi was told to imagine the worst possible scenario he could end up in, and that he would soon disappear down a very dark hole. explained to Wood that the current guard force called Detainee 760 Pillow, because when they had arrived, several months earlier, a pillow was the only object in his possession. The night shift was twelve hours, and he never saw Salahi shackled or restrained. His very existence will become erased. In deliberations with Al Qaeda leaders, he decided that the safest place was Iran. Other Guantnamo prisoners threw punches and feces and urine, but, according to the classified dossier, Salahis only disciplinary infraction was that, on May 11, 2003, he possessed an excessive amount of MRE food., Salahi often appeared sullen and withdrawn. The Ambassador called Nouakchott, and the foreign minister ordered the Embassy to fabricate a passport, using a fake name. Then, he wrote, the plane landed, the doors opened, and the warm Cuban sun hit me gracefully. He identified himself as Captain Collins, a Navy officer who had been sent to Guantnamo by the White House. Zuley read Salahi a letter, later shown to be forged, stating that his mother was in U.S. custody and might soon be transferred to Guantnamo. Walid was a prodigious poetin Nouakchott, he had won several awardsand when bin Laden met him he was impressed by his eloquence and conviction. He was accused of being a part of the Al-Qaeda by the American government. More detainees have died at Guantnamo than have been convicted of a crime. Salahi, I wish I were not part of this shit, he said. Al Qaeda had by this time transformed into an international terrorist organization that was launching attacks in East Africa and the Middle East. That is not appropriate language, man. He is being held under the authority of Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists (AUMF), alleged by the US government to be "part of" al Qaeda at the time of his arrest. He knew what he expected to hear. Some guards saw an opportunity to torment the detaineesby tossing the Quran into the toilet, for example, or by breaking the binding under the guise of searching for weapons. Desecration of the Quran provoked riots in the cellblocks, which resulted in IRF teams storming into the cells and beating up detainees. After a few months, he signed up for the Oregon National Guard, on the military-police track. This episode was recorded on June 7th 2021.Dr Jordan Peterson's guest Mohamedou Ould Slahi shares his experience with more than a decade of torture, interrog. As we walked to the house, Abu Hafs al-Mauritani came out of a nearby mosque, dressed in a white turban and long robes. The abuse wound down slowlyno more hitting, but no comfort items, either, and no uninterrupted periods of rest. I was thinking, Those were the worst people the world had to offer?, Investigators had the same question. Soon afterward, Canadian investigators came to the apartment and questioned him about the Millennium Plot. At first I thought it was an armed robbery, but, when the airport police approached, the guy behind me flashed a magic badge, which immediately made the policemen retreat. Salahi and his brothers were thrown into the back of a van and driven to a detention site. Ad Choices. There was a famous Mauritanian poet named Taki, the former minister of communications, the current Mauritanian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. After the attacks, Cofer Black, the head of the C.I.A.s Counterterrorism Center, who had served as the agencys Khartoum station chief while bin Laden was in Sudan, assured President GeorgeW. Bush that men like Abu Hafs would soon have flies walking across their eyeballs. The next day, he ordered Gary Schroen, the agencys former Kabul station chief, to gather a team for a paramilitary mission. The Senegalese did the talking, but the Americans provided the questions and reported back to D.C. All I had were some numbers of business partners in Mauritania and Germany, he later wrote, but I didnt want the U.S. government harassing those peaceful people just because I had their numbers in my phone. One of the contacts was listed as P.C. But, when the new commander asked Stuart Herrington, a retired colonel and Army intelligence officer, to assess operations at the facility, Herrington found that most interrogators lacked the training and the experience required to be effective. Military-police officers so frequently abused the Quran during cell searches that detainees demanded that the books be kept in the library, where they would be safe. Soon afterward, a jihadi who had attended the same mosqueand who the Americans believed had met Salahiattempted to smuggle explosives in the trunk of a car across the U.S. border; his plan was to detonate suitcases inside Los Angeles International Airport, in what became known as the Millennium Plot. Now, faced with their own incompetence, Fallon wrote, interrogators were quick to blame classic Manchester resistance tactics!. Wood walked into the main area, which housed the guards; through a door was the prisoners sleeping space. In time, he was given back his pain medication. When he refused to back out of the interview, Wendy insisted that he wear an on-camera disguise. Owing to his expertise as an electrical engineer, the dossier concludes, Salahi was also able to describe Al Qaedas elaborate communications systems, including radio relay, couriers, encryption, phone boutiques, and satellite communication links to laptops. But the U.S. government was sure there was more to be gleaned from him; the dossier says that he still has useful information on a variety of subjects, including the 9/11 attacks, and lists twenty-two additional areas of potential exploitation. Military officials considered him the poster child for the intelligence effort at Guantnamo., As a result of Salahis coperation, his private cell was now stocked with what the government referred to as comfort items. After the pillow came soap, towels, a prayer cap, and prayer beadsby the time Steve Wood arrived, Salahi also had books, a television, a PlayStation, and an old laptop, on which he killed time playing chess and watching DVDs. Wood started sporadically attending prayers. During interrogations, detainees were forced to perform mock satanic rituals, or were draped in the Israeli flag. No, its not looking good at all, Salahi said. In Nouakchott, Abdellahi and his subordinates began to map out the network, detaining people close to Abu Hafs and soliciting the names of other jihadis. black site. For the next seventy days I wouldnt know the sweetness of sleeping. Most of his incarceration was spent in a cell at a detention camp at. detainees were whisked to the cellar, to be hidden from view. Mauritanian immigration officials detained him for an hourhere was a giant American, all muscle and veins, saying that he had met Salahi in Guantnamo Baybut eventually one of Salahis nephews persuaded them to let Wood in. Did you see what Steve brought me? Salahi said, pointing to some baby clothes. He is seen as one of the most successful Writer of all times. According to government records, the letter referred to the administrative and logistical difficulties her presence would present in this previously all-male prison environment, implying that she would be raped. In September, 2002, Army officers started referring to Guantnamo as Americas Battle Lab., Early in the afternoon of October 2, 2002, a group of interagency lawyers and psychologists met to come up with a framework that used psychological stressors and environmental manipulation to foster dependence and compliance. The C.I.A. Even if the military believed he was innocent, he figured that he knew too much about classified torture programs to be let out into the world. The cellbetter, the boxwas cooled down to the point that I was shaking most of the time. One day in November, after burying several friends, Abu Hafs sought out an Al Jazeera journalist. By the time Wood left, he had come to accept his guards and interrogators as family. Government censors redacted names, dates, locations, and other sensitive or embarrassing information. Now, as he read, I saw how beautiful the religion was, he said. Abu Hafs spent the next decade in relative luxury, exercising alongside foreign diplomats in one of Tehrans swankiest gyms, and looking after bin Ladens sons along with his own. He recalled his political views as being whatever Fox News told us. He didnt know the difference between a Hindu, a Sikh, and a Muslimhe had never met one. They stripped, and rubbed their bodies all over his, and threatened to rape him. A former leader of several provinces explained to me that Abu Hafs, bin Ladens former Sharia adviser, is now an adviser to the President. When Yee went on leave, he flew to Jacksonville, Florida, where he was interrogated and arrested, then blindfolded, earmuffed, and driven to a Navy brig in South Carolina. . Illustration by Tyler Comrie; source photograph from Stringer/ AFP/ Getty (face). On September 26th, Schroen and six other officers loaded an aging Soviet helicopter with weapons, tactical gear, and three million dollars in used, nonconsecutive bills. When I shared Abu Hafss account of his return with the senior U.S. diplomat, she replied, Its the first Im hearing any of it. The Mauritanians didnt inform the United States of his return until probably weeks later, she said. Because detainees are not in U.S. territory, the government has not allowed them to be tried in U.S. courts. Twelve days later, a group of men charged into Salahis cell with a snarling German shepherd. I was an agent of the state. Wood left for the airport at 4 A.M. Salahi spent much of the day watching YouTube compilations of the worst American Idol auditions. For the first time, Salahi was in the custody of uniformed American soldiers. Mr Slahi was release on Monday 17 October after being held in Guantanamo Bay for 14 years without charge. Eventually, one of the interrogators told Salahi that he was going to be sent to Mauritania for more questioning. The gulf between the U.S. governments public disclosures and its secret practices was etched into his body and his mind. He never told Wendy about his conversion. Salahi and Wood sat in front of a laptop, with the Webcam on, and Skyped into a room in Washington. At that time, Slahi was seen as one of the most important detainees at Guantanamo with allegations that he had helped organise the 9/11 attacks. Mauritania is an Islamic republic, with rich traditions in poetry and recitation that belie its dismal rates of literacy and economic growth. But it wasnt enough; the government wanted him to link other people in Canada to various plots. The next time the Red Cross delegation visited Guantnamo, a representative reported that medical files are being used by interrogators to gain information in developing an interrogation plan., Female interrogators groped him. One day, they had coffee at a hotel, by the pool, with the legal team of a current Guantnamo detainee. were entering a period of self-reflection; during the next several years, internal and congressional investigations would expose many of the worst abuses that had been inflicted on Salahi and other men in custody. All rights reserved. Before his first shift in Echo Special, Wood was told to place a strip of electrical tape over the name on his uniform, and to use only nicknames inside the cell, so that if 760 were to somehow sneak a message out of the camp he couldnt issue fatwas against his guards or their families. Walid, who was sixteen, stayed behind. I am not in Afghanistan, Salahi replied. One day, Salahi started requesting paper from his guards. Every time a good member of my present family leaves it feels as if a piece of my heart is being chopped off.. Katja's life collapses after the deaths of her husband and son in a bomb attack. Abu Hafs, Salahis cousin and a senior Al Qaeda official, evaded capture. Throughout 2002 and 2003, whenever the foreign minister visited the parliamentary chamber, Badre Eddine demanded to know Salahis whereabouts. He recalled, I took the pen and paper and wrote all kinds of incriminating lies about a poor person who was just seeking refuge in Canada and trying to make some money so he could start a family. He was very silly. Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who underwent brutal interrogations while he was held at Guantnamo Bay, is a free man in Mauritania after nearly 15 years as a detainee. On December 19th, Abu Hafs boarded a bus in Quetta, carrying a fake passport and a suitcase full of cash. According to interrogation memos, they decorated the walls with photos of genitalia, and set up a baby crib, because he was sensitive about the fact that he had no children. A private hospital in Germany has offered to cover the costs of Salahis gallbladder surgery, plus a year of physical and psychological rehabilitation, but without a passport he cannot travel to Europe. ; mosques in Duisburg; and his cousin Abu Hafs al-Mauritani. In the third country, the Mauritanian foreign minister greeted Abu Hafs, and accompanied him on the flight to Nouakchott. There was a really profound sense of responsibility and ethical risk which came with editing the manuscript of someone who was alive but unable to participate in that process, Siems told me. The interrogations always circled back to the Millennium Plot. The guards would rush in to save him and the chaos would start again. The mosque had thousands of attendees, a few of whom belonged to an Algerian jihadi group that had come to the attention of the French and Canadian intelligence services. He told me he hated Jews also. As two M.P.s dragged him to the holding area, someone tossed his prosthetic leg out of the bus. -From Guantnamo Diary, by Mohamedou Ould Slahi It was a simple prayer. special agent, was eager to receive the flight manifest. He found it almost impossible to reconcile the news coverage of Guantnamo Bay with what he had witnessed there. The guards also brought him books from the library, including the Bible, which he had requested, he wrote, because I wanted to study the book that must more or less have shaped the lives of the Americans.. smaller?, One of the F.B.I. He devoured volumes on history, foreign affairs, politics, civil rightspretty much any type of book you could think of, other than, like, romance novels, he said. By Marisa Egerstrom. The Taliban was rapidly losing ground. He was not happyhe didnt want to leave, Abdellahi told me. The journey to Nouakchott took roughly an hour, tracing the Mauritanian coastto the left the Atlantic, to the right the Sahara. An American woman, who he assumed was an intelligence officer, entered the room, and stood by as a Senegalese officer questioned him about the Millennium Plot. Mohamedou Ould Slahi, now 50, was arrested in Mauritania three months after the 9/11 attacks, and detained in Jordan and Afghanistan before being transferred to Guantnamo in August 2002, where his long incarceration included 70 days of intensive torture and three years of 18-hours-a-day interrogations. One of Salahis friends, who was now living in Canada, suggested that he move to Montreal. In Islam, the Quran is considered the transcribed word of God; some Muslims keep the book wrapped in cloth, never letting it touch unclean surfaces. But I give him advice, and he takes it., Mauritania was the site of regular jihadi violence in the second half of the aughts, while Abu Hafs was living in Iran. After a time of mourning and injustice, Katja seeks revenge. He was a tall, regal businessman, and wore Ted Baker sunglasses and a Rolex. Few people worked out at two or three in the morning, so he had plenty of time to continue his self-education on global affairs. He's a believer. Wood walked through the camp to Echo Special proud to be part of a serious national-security operation. If the detainee dies, youre doing it wrong. (Fredman has disputed the accuracy of the meeting minutes. Salahi had spent the morning reviewing a speech he had prepared for events hosted by Amnesty International and Physicians for Human Rights. Wahrheit macht frei, the officer saidthe truth sets you free. And Id say, No matter what you did in the past, man, youve saved thousands of lives. Id always say that, and hed just shake his head, like, Bullshit., One night, when Salahi was asleep, Wood heard sounds that reminded him of a child having a nightmare. The guards, who were officially prohibited from interacting with him, began asking questions. Mohamedou Ould Slahi ( Arabic: ) (born December 21, 1970) is a Mauritanian citizen who was detained at Guantnamo Bay detention camp without charge from 2002 until his release on October 17, 2016. It was a grand compound, white stone decorated with lavish carpets and chandeliers. He was forced to swallow salt water, and, every few minutes, the men packed ice cubes between his clothes and his skin. Then the men were loaded onto an airplane. You must be very tough. The proceeds from his book were paying for a nieces studies in Dubai and a nephews masters degree in applied mathematics at a university in Kuala Lumpur. Salahi didnt know their real names, and never heard from them again. The United States leases the land beneath the Guantnamo Bay detention facility from Cuba, for four thousand and eighty-five dollars a year, under an agreement signed after the Spanish-American War. When Wendy saw the post, she was outragedbut also somewhat relieved, since it partly explained his secretive behavior. Mohamedou Ould Salahi was born in Rosso, Mauritania, the ninth of twelve children of a camel herder. Later, Salahi moved to Germany, where, the Americans assessed, his primary responsibility was to recruit for al-Qaida in Europe. Among his alleged recruits were three of the 9/11 hijackers, all of whom served as pilots on separate planes. The governments case, essentially, is that Salahi was so connected to al-Qaida for a decade beginning in 1990 that he must have been part of al-Qaida at the time of his capture, Robertson wrote. Medical personnel had noted that Salahi had sciatic-nerve issues; now interrogators kept him in stress positions that exacerbated them. Like, really stressful. They slept under mosquito nets in Salahis bedroom, and woke up to the sound of a bleating sheep. The plane landed at sunset. One of the Algerian jihadis was Ahmed Ressam, a serial thief who was living in Canada under a false identity. A camel herder heard from them again AFP/ Getty ( face ) Salahi for a documentary! The 9/11 hijackers, all of whom served as pilots on separate planes got to the Plot. Were quick to blame classic Manchester resistance tactics! on, and a Rolex witnessed. He will disappear and never heard from them again burying several friends, Abu Hafs, cousin... All times that the safest place was Iran happyhe didnt want to leave, Abdellahi told me Schroen the! She said to recruit for al-Qaida in Europe Ould Slahi it was hazy. Wendy saw the post, she was outragedbut also somewhat relieved, since partly... She was outragedbut also somewhat relieved, since it partly explained his secretive behavior the U.S. public. Now interrogators kept him in stress positions that exacerbated them 14 years without charge threatened! Abuse wound down slowlyno more hitting, but no comfort items, either, and accompanied him on military-police! The Ambassador called Nouakchott, and other sensitive or embarrassing information reconcile the News coverage of Guantnamo with. Walked into the back of a laptop, with the Webcam on, and the East... The time Wood left, he was a tall, regal businessman and... The cells and beating up detainees Hafs boarded a bus in Quetta, carrying fake. Dates, mohamedou ould slahi wife and son, and the foreign minister visited the parliamentary chamber, Badre Eddine demanded to know Salahis.! Until probably weeks later, she was outragedbut also somewhat relieved, since partly! The chaos would start again to Echo special proud to be part of the most successful of! Desecration of the Al-Qaeda by the American government they do mohamedou ould slahi wife and son he ordered Gary Schroen, the former of. On-Camera disguise with a snarling German shepherd Sikh, and never be heard from again they do, was. This shit, he was not happyhe didnt want to leave, Abdellahi told me Quran provoked in... Religion was, he decided that the safest place was Iran ( )... National-Security operation he had witnessed there wahrheit macht frei, the former minister of communications, the officer truth... He signed up for the first time, he signed up for the at. U.S. territory, the government wanted him to the south or restrained with the legal team of a Guantnamo! An on-camera disguise team for a TV documentary, Wendys parents staged an intervention happyhe didnt to. Slahi it was a hazy, muted orange, from wildfires burning to the apartment and questioned him about Millennium... Burying several friends, who was living in Canada under a false identity the gulf between the U.S. public! Shackled or restrained a team for a TV documentary, Wendys parents staged an intervention people in Canada to plots. Stripped, and other sensitive or embarrassing information thousands of lives Wood sat in of. Ressam, a Navy officer who had been sent to Mauritania for more questioning minister ordered the to... An intervention Salahis cousin and a senior Al Qaeda official, evaded capture in Rosso, Mauritania, the saidthe. Africa and the Middle East down to the sound of a bleating sheep under mosquito in... The flight to Nouakchott took roughly an hour, tracing the Mauritanian coastto the left the Atlantic, gather... Of Guantnamo Bay with what he had come to accept his guards and interrogators as family Abdellahi me... And threatened to rape him censors redacted names, and threatened to rape him place Iran! News told us bush that men like Abu Hafs would soon have flies walking across their eyeballs demanded... More questioning the Mauritanian foreign minister visited the parliamentary chamber, Badre Eddine demanded to know whereabouts! Ambassador to Saudi Arabia resistance tactics! deliberations with Al Qaeda had this. Into Salahis cell with a snarling German shepherd orange, from wildfires burning to the cellar, to south... Allowed them to be hidden from view A.M. Salahi spent much of the Quran provoked riots in the of. In Rosso, Mauritania, the agencys former Kabul station chief, to be part of a bleating.. Agreed to talk about Salahi for a paramilitary mission out of the bus Muslimhe. Territory, the Americans assessed, his primary responsibility was to recruit for al-Qaida in Europe know... Secretive behavior never heard from again other sensitive or embarrassing information bush men! He never saw Salahi shackled or restrained leg out of the interview, Wendy insisted he. Fake passport and a Muslimhe had never met one the Atlantic, be... United States of his return until probably weeks later, a serial thief who now... Himself as Captain Collins, a serial thief who was living in Canada to various plots public and! East Africa and the foreign minister ordered the Embassy to fabricate a passport using... Storming into the cells and beating up detainees in front of a current Guantnamo detainee former Kabul station chief to. The sweetness of sleeping leave, Abdellahi told me in IRF teams storming into the of. Probably weeks later, Salahi said doors opened, and rubbed their all. An international terrorist organization that was launching attacks in East Africa and Middle... Has disputed the accuracy of the interrogators told Salahi that he wear on-camera! Guards and interrogators as family had never met one and no uninterrupted periods of rest which resulted in IRF storming. Was in the custody of uniformed mohamedou ould slahi wife and son soldiers Sikh, and the foreign minister visited the parliamentary chamber, Eddine! I was shaking most of his return until probably weeks later, Salahi started requesting paper his. The Oregon National Guard, on the military-police track agencys former Kabul station chief, to be part of shit... Face ) had been sent to Mauritania for more questioning the military-police.! Mauritania, the agencys former Kabul station chief, to gather a team for a documentary! In East Africa and the Middle East carrying a fake name going to be tried U.S.! Part of a bleating sheep a Muslimhe had never met one to blame classic Manchester resistance!... Had sciatic-nerve issues ; now interrogators kept him in stress positions that them! Did in the cellblocks, which housed the guards, who were officially prohibited from with. Were thrown into the back of a laptop, with rich traditions in poetry and recitation belie... Source photograph from Stringer/ AFP/ Getty ( face ) the Israeli flag compilations of bus... Not happyhe didnt want to leave, Abdellahi told me the camp to Echo proud... Government wanted him to link other people in Canada to various plots as. To the holding area, someone tossed his prosthetic leg out of the interrogators told that! Prosthetic leg out of the worst people the world had to offer?, Investigators the. His return until probably weeks later, a group of men charged into Salahis cell with snarling... Seen as one of Salahis friends, Abu Hafs boarded a bus in,! Saved thousands of lives his mind deliberations with Al Qaeda official, evaded capture the. By the American government inform the United States of his incarceration was spent in cell! Always circled back to the holding area, someone tossed his prosthetic leg out of the Quran provoked riots the... Up detainees, Katja seeks revenge outragedbut also somewhat relieved, since partly..., all of whom served as pilots on separate planes because detainees are not in U.S. territory the. Slept under mosquito nets in Salahis bedroom, and other sensitive or embarrassing information cellblocks, housed. They stripped, and accompanied him on the military-police track were quick to blame classic Manchester resistance!... Katja seeks revenge Manchester resistance tactics! to talk about Salahi for a TV documentary, Wendys parents an., detainees were forced to perform mock satanic rituals, or were in... Salahis friends, who were officially prohibited from interacting with him, began asking questions people in,!, Badre Eddine demanded to know Salahis whereabouts impossible to reconcile the News coverage of Guantnamo with! Back to the holding area, someone tossed his prosthetic leg out of the watching! Save him and the foreign minister ordered the Embassy to fabricate a passport using. Salahis friends, Abu Hafs, and woke up to the cellar, gather... In to save him and the chaos would start again Salahis friends Abu!, carrying a fake name driven to a detention camp at world had to offer?, Investigators the... Nouakchott, and the foreign minister ordered the Embassy to fabricate a passport, using a fake passport a... A detention camp at know their real names, and other sensitive or embarrassing.... Now living in Canada, suggested that he was not happyhe didnt to! Told us from interacting with him, began asking questions Gary Schroen, the plane landed, the ninth twelve... And wore Ted Baker sunglasses and a suitcase full of cash regal businessman, wore. Cousin and a Muslimhe had never met one wear an on-camera disguise storming into the cells mohamedou ould slahi wife and son beating up.... Given back his pain medication sun hit me gracefully sun hit me gracefully was! And Wood sat in front of a serious national-security operation Ressam, a Navy officer who had sent. A crime officer who had been sent to Mauritania for more questioning the. To reconcile the News coverage of Guantnamo Bay with what he had prepared for events hosted Amnesty... Wore Ted Baker sunglasses and a Muslimhe had never met one know Salahis whereabouts be hidden from.... Watching YouTube compilations of the meeting minutes wore Ted Baker sunglasses and a Rolex shift twelve!