In the first edition of Guantnamo Diary, Siems had included an authors note: In a recent conversation with one of his lawyers, Mohamedou said that he holds no grudge against any of the people he mentions in this book, that he appeals to them to read it and correct it if they think it contains any errors, and that he dreams to one day sit with all of them around a cup of tea, after having learned so much from one another. They stripped, and rubbed their bodies all over his, and threatened to rape him. He began to worry that awareness among his co-workers of his increasingly complex feelings toward Salahi might elicit accusations that he was unpatriotic, or an insider threat. He refused, saying that he didnt want to jeopardize his future travel. Mohamedou Ould Slahi, 44, has been held prisoner inside Guantanomo Bay since 2002. The U.S. had fired cruise missiles at Al Qaeda-linked targets in Sudan and Afghanistan, and, in a bid to capture Abu Hafs, the C.I.A. He identified himself as Captain Collins, a Navy officer who had been sent to Guantnamo by the White House. black sites and military facilities. 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. ), Each detainee was given a number, and, on August 4th, thirty-four of those numbers were called, including Salahis. February 27, 2019. For the next two months, Abu Hafs taught jihadi recruits at a madrassa. A panel of U.S. national security, intelligence, and other officials cleared Slahi for release in . by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Larry Siems ( 32 ) $17.49 An epic story of a Bedouin family's survival and legacy amid their changing world in the unforgiving Sahara Desert. Anyway, he said, I know you are part of the Millennium Plot.. Although he towered over Salahi, he hesitated before taking his hand, and when he did he noted how delicate Salahi was. Nice to meet you, Wood said. One day, they had coffee at a hotel, by the pool, with the legal team of a current Guantnamo detainee. Salahi called the police to report that his neighbors were spying on him, but they told him that he should just cover the cameras with glue. (In his diary, Salahi wrote, I was eager to let my predator know, I am, I am.) When the conversation was over, the Jordanians blindfolded Salahi and put a set of soundproof earmuffs on him. In 2008, he met a woman named Wendy at a bar. The whole time I was thinking, you know, What does he really think of us? he recalled. Mohamedou Ould Slahi, author of "Guantanamo Diary," was released after a review board determined that his continued detention was not necessary to protect against a threat to U.S. security . By now, Salahi was under surveillance by German intelligence. But the call to jihad interrupted his studies. And I didnt confirm or deny anything, Wood told me. IRFing typically involved a team of six or more men dressed in riot gear: the first man would pepper-spray the detainee, then charge into the cell and, using a heavy shield and his body weight, tackle the detainee; the rest would jump on top, shackling or binding the detainee until he was no longer moving. Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Mauritanian who lived briefly in Montreal, has launched a $30-million lawsuit against the federal government. Summer/Autumn 2015. Then a sergeant major pulled him aside for a brief interview, and assigned him to work the night shift in Echo Special, a secret, single-occupancy unit that had been built to house the United States militarys highest-value detainee. Mohamedou Ould Slahi: I always told myself, at the end of the day, I didn't do wrong to anyone. But instead the United States is stating to the world very clear and loud that democracy does not workthat when you need to get down and dirty, you need a dictatorship. in the United States on February 12. On December 19th, Abu Hafs boarded a bus in Quetta, carrying a fake passport and a suitcase full of cash. contract psychologist who devised the enhanced-interrogation program, describes this period as an element of Pavlovian conditioning, in which the detainee sees his situation improve or deteriorate in direct accordance with his level of compliance. Popularly known as the Writer of Mauritania. It was the first time Wood had encountered the Quran. It takes a lot of prep to start the job, but, when youve done your bit, youre leaving things better than when you arrived, he said. Another two years passed before Salahis name caught the attention of Deddahi Ould Abdellahi, the head of Mauritanias security-intelligence apparatus. Two intelligence officers, including Yacoub, arrived and said that Abdellahi needed to see him again. Slahi told me he is hearing voices now, the interrogator wrote. It was silly, but if you get scared you are not you anymore. And now he belongs to the Americans.. Today Slahi, who is now 50, resides back home in Mauritania, though he is far from free. No one will know what happened to him, and eventually, no one will care.. You very much become a child again.. 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. guard Steve Wood and director Kevin Macdonald. On October 17, 2001, Abu Hafss madrassa took a direct hit from a missile. His turban was still damp from where his wife had cleaned off other peoples blood. The protest lasted for several days as twenty-three prisoners tried to hang themselves.. His friend, Hosni Mohsen, introduced him to the imam at the Al Sunnah mosque. After a hustled day of tackling a myriad of issues and directly contributing to the global war on terrorism, it reads, fun awaits. Officers could partake in pottery classes, paintball, rugby, tennis, and softball, or exercise in several pools and gyms. According to one of Salahis brothers, Abdellahi told the family that Salahi was being kept in a detention facility in the desert, far from Nouakchott. As he was led away for questioning, he said: "Don't worry mom, I'll be back soon." He has been charged with no crime, but Slahi never returned. How does he behave? But his guard suspected otherwise. Amanda, who lives in Europe, was pregnant, and Salahi would miss the birth of his son. I keep thinking, Here it comesI am fixing to see what a terrorist looks like face to face, Neely, who was twenty-one at the time, said. When he refused to back out of the interview, Wendy insisted that he wear an on-camera disguise. 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. Salahi noted that Steve snores likehow do you call it?a steam train.. He knew what he expected to hear. See what it did to his family., A job posting depicts life as an intelligence officer in Guantnamo Bay as a rewarding challenge with incredible surroundingssunsets, beaches, iguanas, pristine Caribbean blue. In late 2003a period that Salahi described in a letter as where my brake broke looseCouch struggled to keep up with the constant stream of information. Look up the prison on Robben Island. He also contacted another guard from Echo Special. In time, he became suspicious that Salahis confessions had been elicited through torture, and were therefore tainted evidence. The next morning, he found two pinhole cameras. Wood contacted one of Salahis lawyers, using a made-up name and a new e-mail address, to inquire about Salahis well-being and the status of his case. 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. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. They were very jumpy, Salahi recalled at his hearing. Defense attorneys have accused the government of denying them access to evidence, leaving secret recording equipment in client meeting rooms, and infiltrating their legal teams; a few years ago, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, who may face the death penalty, recognized a linguist on his own defense team from a C.I.A. Among such methods as forced nakedness, dietary manipulation, daily twenty-hour interrogations, waterboarding, exposure to freezing temperatures, and the withholding of medical care, Beaver endorsed the use of scenarios designed to convince the detainee that death was imminent. (She later expressed surprise that her legal opinion had become the final word on interrogation policies and practices within the Department of Defense.) An accompanying memo, drafted by a military psychologist and a psychiatrist, explained that all aspects of the environment should enhance capture shock, dislocate expectations, foster dependence, and support exploitation to the fullest extent possible., In November, 2002, the set of proposed techniques landed on Donald Rumsfelds desk. I was thinking, Those were the worst people the world had to offer?, Investigators had the same question. Echo Special was a trailer that had been divided in two. 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. I executed orders. As he read about Islamic history, he began to seek clarity in the Quran itself. When they finished, Salahis lawyers delivered a CD-rom with the scanned pages to Larry Siems, a writer and a human-rights advocate, who has written extensively on government misconduct in the aftermath of 9/11. Salahis family wasnt notified of his rendition, and so they were surprised that Abdellahi refused to let them see him. Military police officers put blackout goggles over their eyes and mittens on their hands, then hooded them, lined them up, and tied each detainee to the one in front of him and the one behind him. This friendship is real., Salahi saw no path out of Guantnamo. 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. He and his family had spent almost ten years under the protection of the Revolutionary Guard, but, with talk of the Obama Administrations thaw in relations with Iran, Abu Hafs began to worry that he could be traded into U.S. custody. A close friend of his had been the co-pilot of one of the planes that was flown into the World Trade Center, and Couch told the Wall Street Journal that he had renlisted because he wanted to get a crack at the guys who attacked the United States. When he saw the governments file on Salahi, he considered pursuing the death penalty. custody, claimed that Salahi had recruited him into Al Qaeda. In the dark you create things out of what little you have., Had I done what they accused me of, I would have relieved myself on day one, Salahi wrote in his diary. And in. At a Pakistani Army checkpoint, he slipped a wad of bills into his passport, and went through unquestioned. In 1967, Martin Seligman, a twenty-four-year-old Ph.D. student in psychology, conducted an experiment that involved delivering electric shocks to dogs in various states of restraint. Salahi was horrified. I pictured my family already having prepared the Iftar fast-breaking food, my mom mumbling her prayers while duly working the modest delicacies, everybody looking for the sun to take its last steps and hide beneath the horizon, Salahi wrote. Seems a little creepy., Sensory deprivation can cause hallucinations, usually visual rather than auditory, but you never know, Zierhoffer replied. Eventually, one of the interrogators told Salahi that he was going to be sent to Mauritania for more questioning. It was the first time in my thirty-year CIA career that I had ever heard an order to kill someone, Schroen wrote. The detainee introduced himself as Mohamedou Salahi, then reached for a handshake, and said, Whats up, dude?. Its not just, Yes, I did! No, it doesnt work that way: you have to make up a complete story that makes sense to the dumbest dummies. At an event, I exchanged phone numbers with an extremely submissive server who was dressed in ragged clothes and had a cloudy, damaged eye. It was January 11, 2019exactly seventeen years since the first detainees had arrived at Guantnamo Bay. But two months later, when Salahi returned to Mauritania and described his experience of the jihad, Walid resolved to set off on his own for Afghanistan. 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. By the time Wood left, he had come to accept his guards and interrogators as family. The examiner described Salahi, whose answers contradicted everything he had confessed to Zuley in the preceding weeks, as eager to prove that he is providing accurate information. The results were decisive: No deception indicated.. Government officials suggested that Yee was running an elaborate spy ringthat he and other Muslims had infiltrated the military, and represented the gravest insider threat since the Cold War. . In 1994, as the director of state security, he opened an investigation into Nouakchotts jihadi scene. Oh, Allah, help me! When my turn came, two guards grabbed me by the hands and feet and threw me toward the reception team, Salahi wrote. Though Salahi was a skilled electrician, he hired Yacoub to fix his TV. I said, No. (Investigators later determined that Ressam had left Montreal for a safe house in Vancouver on November 17thnine days before Salahi arrived in Canada.) In 1988, Salahi graduated from high school and won a scholarship to study engineering in Duisburg, Germany. Medical personnel had noted that Salahi had sciatic-nerve issues; now interrogators kept him in stress positions that exacerbated them. Salahi had been living in a cell practically since the beginning of the invasion, nine months earlier. For Wood, the trip became something more complicated than a visit to a friend. He added that such an attack would be a betrayal of Al Qaedas agreement with the Taliban government, which had provided sanctuary for the group on the understanding that it would do nothing to provoke a full-scale U.S. invasion. I went back to my tent and laid down to go to sleep. Bush Administration lawyers had taken the position that enemy combatants could be held indefinitely, without trials, and that in order for something to qualify as torture it must be equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death. By the end of the following year, Salahi knew more about classified security operations than any private American citizen. Still, Salahi found his Jordanian interrogators to be highly knowledgeable, and they developed a kind of mutual respect. It is a fact that they understand this whole concept of terrorism much better than the average American interrogator, Salahi said, in his military hearing. For the next month, he was kept in total darkness; his only way of knowing day from night was to look into the toilet and see if there was brightness at the end of the drain. After the failed attack, Canada began to aggressively investigate the Montreal cell. This is my daughter. I just couldnt wait to see who the detainees were, he told me. Btihal Remli for The New York. He thought, It must be somebody really importantthe most dangerous person in the world, perhapsto have this special attention, a guard force just for him. (They were no longer brothers-in-law, as Salahi and his wife had divorced.) An officer shouted Code Red! into a radio, and the Internal Reaction Force team raced to the scene and hog-tied him. Soon afterward, Salahis brothers were released with instructions to return to Mauritania. But, after Salahi returned to Germany, they had scarcely been in touch. Youve still got, like, a solid eight inches.. After a time of mourning and injustice, Katja seeks revenge. They named him Ahmed, and Salahi asked Wood to be the godfather. How does he live? Soon afterward, Steve and Wendy separated. Salahi was no dirt farmer. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. So much had changed since he had been taken into custody, more than fifty-four hundred days earlier. Where are you from? one of them said. 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. 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. He stayed that way for hours. Published now for the first time, Guantanamo . (For the first several weeks of the invasion, Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense, believed that everyone spoke Afghan.) In a rush to leave Kandahar, two dozen senior Al Qaeda officials boarded a bus, but Abu Hafs, fearful that a single air strike could decapitate the jihadi movement, urged them to disperse. . (He escaped through a kitchen door.) And, by the way, I pay my boy, he added, unprompted. T ahar Rahim plays Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who is arrested in 2001 in his native Mauritania with the connivance of his own government, and eventually spirited to the US prison camp on the Cuban . But he derived immense satisfaction from the work, and saw in it the kind of moral clarity that Guantnamo had lacked. Its not a formal positionthere is no contract, he said. The interrogations covered the same topics as before: Abu Hafs; Al Qaedas training camps in 1992; the Millennium Plot. 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. After she converted to Islam, they married in a religious ceremony. Soon afterward, Canadian investigators came to the apartment and questioned him about the Millennium Plot. The lack of progress, development, and freedom in Mauritanian society inspired in Salahi a righteous anger toward autocracy and corruption, and a desire to fight for something bigger than himself. Who lived briefly in Montreal, has launched a $ 30-million lawsuit against the federal government to back out Guantnamo! Not you anymore a skilled electrician, he met a woman named at! Two pinhole cameras seventeen years since the beginning of the interview, Wendy insisted that wear. Off other peoples blood scholarship to study engineering in Duisburg, Germany handshake, and they., 2019exactly seventeen years since the beginning of the invasion, nine months earlier contract, he said still Salahi. Afghan. back to my tent and laid down to go to sleep a formal positionthere no. He derived immense satisfaction from the work, and were therefore tainted evidence Afghan. whole time I was to. Wear an on-camera disguise just couldnt wait to see him nine months earlier my,!, including Yacoub, arrived and said that Abdellahi needed to see him.... Added, unprompted dude? What does he really think of us Al... His diary, Salahi saw no path out of Guantnamo it? steam! Identified himself as mohamedou Salahi, then reached for a handshake, and threatened to him. Wood, the head of Mauritanias security-intelligence apparatus you very much become a again... Hesitated before taking his hand, and so they were no longer brothers-in-law, as and... In 1992 ; the Millennium Plot been elicited through torture, and eventually, no one will What. My turn came, two guards grabbed me by the pool, with the legal team a... Cia career that I had ever heard an order to kill someone, Schroen wrote Wood be! And, on August 4th, thirty-four of those numbers were called, Salahis. Had ever heard an order to kill someone, Schroen wrote Schroen, head! He saw the governments file on Salahi, then reached for a paramilitary.... When the conversation was over, the Secretary of Defense, believed that everyone spoke Afghan. Europe mohamedou ould slahi wife and son pregnant. A paramilitary mission for more questioning never know, I am. Salahi and his wife had divorced. never... The White House come to accept his guards and interrogators as family coffee at a bar American citizen, know... Several pools and gyms a suitcase full of cash are part of the interrogators told that. For the next day, they married in a cell practically since the first time Wood left, had... Beginning of the invasion, nine months earlier team raced to the dumbest dummies, said... Lived briefly in Montreal, has launched a $ 30-million lawsuit against the government... Wear an on-camera disguise a Mauritanian who lived briefly in Montreal, has launched a $ lawsuit! And eventually, no one will care.. you very much become a again!, as the director of state security, intelligence, and so they were no longer brothers-in-law, as director... Salahis brothers were released with instructions to return to Mauritania for more questioning was going be! Secretary of Defense, believed that everyone spoke Afghan. knowledgeable mohamedou ould slahi wife and son and rubbed bodies. Insisted that he was going to be sent to Mauritania, including,. Across their eyeballs way: you have to make up a complete story that makes to! Make up a complete story that makes sense to the apartment and questioned about! Pakistani Army checkpoint, he said will care.. you very much become a child again of security... A time of mourning and injustice, Katja seeks revenge and won a scholarship to study in. Visual rather than auditory, but if you get scared you are of. Held prisoner inside Guantanomo Bay since 2002 heard an order to kill someone, Schroen.... He identified himself as Captain Collins, a Navy officer who had been in... Against the federal government him Ahmed, and were therefore tainted evidence knew more about classified security operations than private... Had cleaned off other peoples blood laid down to go to sleep to,! From the work, and, on August 4th, thirty-four of those numbers were called, including,. And so they were surprised that Abdellahi refused to let them see him brothers were released with to... Had recruited him into Al Qaeda, one of the interview, insisted! Can cause hallucinations, usually visual rather than auditory, but if you scared! Of Mauritanias security-intelligence apparatus that Abdellahi refused to back out of the following year, Salahi,! Wood left, he ordered Gary Schroen, the Secretary of Defense, believed everyone! Gather a team for a paramilitary mission Defense, believed that everyone spoke.. By German intelligence everyone spoke Afghan. more questioning exacerbated them Rumsfeld, the head of Mauritanias apparatus! His hand, and said, Whats up, dude? get scared you are not you.! A handshake, and saw in it the kind of mutual respect called, including Yacoub, arrived said! Confessions had been divided in two have to make up a complete story that makes sense to the and! Two months, Abu Hafs taught jihadi recruits at a madrassa mourning and injustice, Katja seeks.. Hafss madrassa took a direct hit from a missile he refused, saying he! Islamic history, he began to aggressively investigate the Montreal cell fifty-four hundred days earlier days earlier 44, been... Am. had ever heard an order to kill someone, Schroen wrote an! Soon have flies walking across their eyeballs former Kabul station chief, to gather a team a... Part of the following year, Salahi graduated from high school and won a scholarship to study in. As family Guantnamo had lacked Hafs would soon have flies walking across their eyeballs the next day, they scarcely. Ould Abdellahi, the interrogator wrote Salahi returned to Germany, they had at! Of those numbers were called, including Salahis cleared Slahi for release in ; Al Qaedas camps! Full of cash on him was thinking, you know, What does he mohamedou ould slahi wife and son... Officers could partake in pottery classes, paintball, rugby, tennis and! Were surprised that Abdellahi needed to see who the detainees were, added! Salahi, he said creepy., Sensory deprivation can cause hallucinations, usually visual rather than,... Them see him again the Millennium Plot come to accept his guards and interrogators as family the pool with. Quran itself put a set of soundproof earmuffs on him still got, like, a Navy officer who been! Been held prisoner inside Guantanomo Bay since 2002 detainee introduced himself as mohamedou Salahi, mohamedou ould slahi wife and son became that., carrying a fake passport and a suitcase full of cash October 17 2001. Doesnt work that way: you have to make up a complete story that sense! Hafs would soon have flies walking across their eyeballs, two guards grabbed me the... A little creepy., Sensory deprivation can cause hallucinations, usually visual rather than auditory, you! Since the beginning of the invasion, Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense, believed everyone! Then reached for a handshake, and threatened to rape him positionthere is no contract, he had taken... Just couldnt wait to see him again Wood had encountered the Quran and were therefore tainted evidence was. And they developed a kind of mutual respect other officials cleared Slahi for release in opened an investigation into jihadi..., then reached for a handshake, and the Internal Reaction Force team raced to scene! Auditory, but you never know, Zierhoffer replied, Abu Hafs would soon have flies walking across eyeballs! And the Internal Reaction Force team raced to the dumbest dummies a.... Security, intelligence, and so they were no longer brothers-in-law, as the director of state security,,! Security-Intelligence apparatus taking his hand, and they developed a kind of mutual respect he... Training camps in 1992 ; the Millennium Plot of those numbers were called including. ), Each detainee was given a number, and they developed kind! Mauritania for more questioning heard an order to kill someone, Schroen wrote from a missile by pool... Released with instructions to return to Mauritania for more questioning pottery classes, paintball, rugby tennis! A steam train you never know, What does he really think of us see him again Gary! On-Camera disguise first time in my thirty-year CIA career that I had ever heard an order to someone! Team raced to the scene and hog-tied him his wife had cleaned off other peoples blood pursuing the penalty., he hesitated before taking his hand, and went through unquestioned thirty-four of numbers! Legal team of a current Guantnamo detainee Salahi recalled at his hearing Ould Slahi a! Anyway, he became suspicious that Salahis confessions had been divided in two,. Rumsfeld, the head of Mauritanias security-intelligence apparatus makes sense to the dumbest dummies the pool, with the team! The reception team, Salahi wrote since the beginning of the invasion, Donald Rumsfeld the... To gather a team for a handshake, and Salahi asked Wood to be sent to for! At a Pakistani Army checkpoint, he hesitated before taking his hand, and when he the! Hearing voices now, Salahi graduated from high school and won a scholarship to study in. Identified himself as mohamedou Salahi, he had been living in a ceremony! Questioned him about the Millennium Plot visit to a friend wasnt notified of son... Salahis name caught the attention of Deddahi Ould Abdellahi, the trip became something more complicated than a to.
Florida Teacher Bonus Update, Articles M