This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/18/us/guantnamo-diary-writer-mohamedou-ould-slahi.html
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| ‘Guantánamo Diary’ Writer Is Sent Home to Mauritania | ‘Guantánamo Diary’ Writer Is Sent Home to Mauritania |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Monday announced that it had repatriated a prominent Guantánamo detainee who wrote a best-selling memoir recounting his abuse by American interrogators. The transfer reduced the remaining detainee population to 60. | WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Monday announced that it had repatriated a prominent Guantánamo detainee who wrote a best-selling memoir recounting his abuse by American interrogators. The transfer reduced the remaining detainee population to 60. |
| The ex-detainee, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, 45, was transferred to his native Mauritania on Monday, officials said. A parole-like review panel of six agencies recommended his transfer in July, citing his “highly compliant behavior in detention” and “clear indications of a change in the detainee’s mind-set.” | |
| “I feel grateful and indebted to the people who have stood by me,” Mr. Slahi said in a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union, which helped to represent him. “I have come to learn that goodness is transnational, transcultural and transethnic. I’m thrilled to reunite with my family.” | “I feel grateful and indebted to the people who have stood by me,” Mr. Slahi said in a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union, which helped to represent him. “I have come to learn that goodness is transnational, transcultural and transethnic. I’m thrilled to reunite with my family.” |
| Born in Mauritania, Mr. Slahi studied electrical engineering in Germany and then joined Al Qaeda in the early 1990s, when Osama bin Laden’s mujahedeen fighters were helping the anti-Communist resistance in Afghanistan, backed by the United States, after the Soviet invasion. | |
| He eventually returned to Germany and later crossed paths with one of the accused plotters of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. By the time of those attacks, Mr. Slahi was back in Mauritania. He was arrested and sent to Jordan, which later transferred him to the custody of the United States. | He eventually returned to Germany and later crossed paths with one of the accused plotters of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. By the time of those attacks, Mr. Slahi was back in Mauritania. He was arrested and sent to Jordan, which later transferred him to the custody of the United States. |
| Taken to Guantánamo Bay, Mr. Slahi was subjected in 2003 to a special interrogation approved by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. Mr. Slahi wrote of sleep deprivation, beatings, dousings with ice water and being shackled for days in a freezing cell. | Taken to Guantánamo Bay, Mr. Slahi was subjected in 2003 to a special interrogation approved by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. Mr. Slahi wrote of sleep deprivation, beatings, dousings with ice water and being shackled for days in a freezing cell. |
| But he denied involvement with terrorism and was never charged with a crime. | But he denied involvement with terrorism and was never charged with a crime. |
| He wrote a memoir by hand about that period, and his lawyers fought for years for permission to have it published. After it appeared, with many redactions, under the title “Guantánamo Diary” in 2015, it became a best seller and was optioned for a movie. | He wrote a memoir by hand about that period, and his lawyers fought for years for permission to have it published. After it appeared, with many redactions, under the title “Guantánamo Diary” in 2015, it became a best seller and was optioned for a movie. |
| When Mr. Slahi’s memoir was published, Mark Danner wrote in The New York Times Sunday Book Review that it was “the most profound account yet written of what it is like to be that collateral damage” from the American response to the 2001 attacks. | When Mr. Slahi’s memoir was published, Mark Danner wrote in The New York Times Sunday Book Review that it was “the most profound account yet written of what it is like to be that collateral damage” from the American response to the 2001 attacks. |
| At his parole-like hearing in June, a representative said Mr. Slahi wanted to start a business and write books. | At his parole-like hearing in June, a representative said Mr. Slahi wanted to start a business and write books. |
| In deciding to release him, the panel also cited “the extensive support network available to the detainee from multiple sources, including strong family connections, and the detainee’s robust and realistic plan for the future.” | In deciding to release him, the panel also cited “the extensive support network available to the detainee from multiple sources, including strong family connections, and the detainee’s robust and realistic plan for the future.” |
| Nancy Hollander, one of Mr. Slahi’s lawyers, said in the A.C.L.U. statement: “We are thrilled that our client’s nightmare is finally ending. After all these years, he wants nothing more than to be with his family and rebuild his life. We’re so grateful to everyone who helped make this day a reality.” |