Mohamedou Ould Slahi

Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Arabic: محمد ولد صلاحي, transliterated Muhammad walad Salahi, also used the alias أبو مصعب, transliterated Abu Musab) (c.1972 - present) is a Mauritanian national formerly suspected of involvement in one of the 2000 millennium attack plots. Slahi was born in Mauritania, but moved to Germany in the late 1980s. He was well-known to investigators as an al-Qaida operative. In late 1999, Slahi was operating under the pseudonym "Abu Musab", unbeknownst to German or American intelligence.

He is in US detention.

Germany

Separately, members of the terrorist Hamburg cell were planning to go to Chechnya to defend Muslims against Russian forces. They met a stranger on a train named Khalid al-Masri, who advised them to talk to a man named Abu Musab (actually Slahi) in Duisburg Germany. Slahi advised them that it was difficult to get to Chechnya, and many Muslims were being turned away by the authorities. He therefore advised them to train in Afghanistan, and he gave them useful information in how to get there. In Afghanistan, these same travellers would become the core organizers of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Canada

Afterwards, Slahi moved to Montreal, Canada and was granted permanent resident status despite security officials' concerns. He lived in a mosque as an imam. After the 2000 millennium attack plots failed, investigators began to suspect Slahi's involvement. The would-be suicide-attacker Ahmed Ressam had lived in the same mosque. Slahi moved suddenly to Mauritania, leading investigators to conclude he was fleeing; Slahi claims he went to visit his sick mother.

According to his testimony before his Combatant Status Review Tribunal Slahi lived in Canada from November 26 1999 to January 20 2000. He stayed with his friend, Hasni Mohsed, not in a mosque. He met some of Mohsen's friends, including Raoul Hanashi, who was recruited to Jihad and met Abu Zubaydah.

Mauritania 2000-2001

In Mauritania, Slahi repeatedly turned himself in to authorities when asked to do so, but was twice released. Finally he was arrested and turned over to American forces, who rendered him to Jordan, where he remained for eight months. A report published by Amnesty International on September 18, 2006, describes his rendition and treatment there. http://web.amnesty.org/library/pdf/AMR511492006ENGLISH/$File/AMR5114906.pdf Later he was moved to Bagram Air Force Base, and from there he was placed in Camp X-ray in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He received some notice later when he went on a hunger strike to protest the fact that a severe rash he had developed was not being treated. He finally received medical treatment after he became ill from exhaustion. On December 14, 2005 it was confirmed that officials of the German foreign and domestic intelligence agencies (Bundesnachrichtendienst and Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz) had participated in the interrogation of Slahi at least once during a stay at the Guantanamo Bay camps between September 21 and September 27, 2002.

Guantanamo

Memos from meetings held on October 9 2003 and February 2 2004 summarizing meetings between General Geoffrey Miller and his staff and Vincent Cassard of the ICRC, acknowledged that camp authorities were not permitting the ICRC to have access to Slahi, due to "military necessity".

As of April 20 2006 Slahi remains in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba. Slahi's detainee ID number is 760.

Combatant Status Review Tribunal

The transcript from Slahi's Combatant Status Review Tribunal was released, on March 3 2006, in response to a court order from US District Court Justice Jed Rakoff, together with 300 other transcripts. The transcripts were released without identifying whose transcripts they were. On April 20 2006 the Department of Defense released a list of the names and ID numbers of all the detainees who had gone through a CSRT, enabling Slahi's transcript to be found.

The Los Angeles Times wrote: "But the documents also show that the puzzle of a man U.S. terrorism experts believe was involved in the Sept. 11 attacks and the millennium plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport seems only to grow deeper.

The Times reports that Slahi has requested permission to live in the USA in a witness protection program. The Times says that Slahi continues to assert his innocence, that he acknowledges traveling to Afghanistan for Jihad, but it was during the Soviet occupation, and that he had cut his ties Al Qaeda a decade ago.

The Times reports:

"A detailed summary, obtained by The Times, of Slahi's interrogations by U.S. officials suggests that he played a more central role and that he lied about it during his many debriefings over the last four years."

Allegations

The allegations against Slahi were:

a The detainee is associated with Al Qaida and the Taliban.

1. The detainee admitted that he traveled to Afghanistan to wage Jihad.
2. The detainee stated that his goal was to become a martyr by dying for Islam.
3. The detainee trained at the al Farouq camp in Afghanistan where he took the alias of Abu Masab.
4. The detainee received training on the Kalashnikov, Simonov, UZI, M-16, Makarov pistol and rocket propelled grenades while at the al Farouq camp.

testimony

Slahi admitted he had traveled to Afghanistan to wage Jihad, and that he had trained at the al Farouq training camp. But that was during the Soviet occupation. He was present, in Afghanistan, when Kabul fell, and the Soviets withdrew. Slahi described how civil war between the different factions which had joined to fight the Soviets broke out. So he cut his ties and left. He had joined jihad to fight non-Muslim invaders who were oppressing Muslims.

He was asked if he would consider the American occupiers of Afghanistan non-Muslim invaders who were oppressing Muslims. He replied that he did not, because Muslims in America were free to practice their religion.

Administrative Review Board hearing

Detainees who were determined to have been properly classified as "enemy combatants" were scheduled to have their dossier reviewed at annual Administrative Review Board hearings. The Administrative Review Boards weren't authorized to review whether a detainee qualified for POW status, and they weren't authorized to review whether a detainee should have been classified as an "enemy combatant".

They were authorized to consider whether a detainee should continue to be detained by the United States, because they continued to pose a threat -- or whether they could safely be repatriated to the custody of their home country, or whether they could be set free.

The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment

1. In 1992, the detainee traveled to Gardiz [sic], Afghanistan to fight and was assigned to a mortar battery.
2. The detainee actively recruited for jihad from 1992-1997. The detainee felt it was an important function and would often speak of jihad while he preached at mosques in Germany.
3. Based on the detainee’s advice, an individual in Duisburg, Germany traveled to Afghanistan for weapons training and to join the armed Taliban forces. The detainee arranged for this individual to meet with Usama bin laden and the individual swore allegiance to al Qaida. The individual became an important and influential al Qaida member.
4. While in Germany, the detainee worked with a friend who recruited people to go fight jihad in Afghanistan.
5. In December 1999, the detainee became the Imam at a mosque in Montreal, Canada. The detainee thought that the Algerian Armed Islamic Group and the Salafis might have a presence at that mosque.
6. An al Qaida operative identified the detainee as an al Qaida facilitator who played a part in recruiting jihadists to fight in Afghanistan and Chechnya and to become suicide hijackers in the west. The detainee convinced the al Qaida operative and three future World Trade Center suicide hijackers to undergo al Qaida basic military training in Afghanistan.
7. An al Qaida operative stated that the detainee facilitated the operative’s initial travel to Afghanistan and his initial introduction to Usama bin Laden.
8. An Islamic extremist stated that he attended meetings in the detainee’s house on numerous occasions with a future suicide bomber and an al Qaida operative.
9. The detainee swore loyalty to Usama bin Laden in 1990.

b. Training

1. The detainee was trained in the use of weapons and terrorist tactics in Usama bin Laden’s training camps in Afghanistan.
2. In January 1991, the detainee trained for six weeks at Camp Farouq, located near Khowst. Training consisted of physical exercises and weapons training on the AK-47, Seminov, Uzi, M-16, Makarov pistol and rocket propelled grenades.

c. Connetions/Associations

1. From 1993 through 1999, the detainee was tasked by an individual to set up a radio broadcasting station in Sudan, to assist in counterfeiting money, especially United States currency, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and to help establish greater Internet connectivity between Sudan and Kandahar. The detainee denied taking part in any of these taskings.
2. The individual who tasked the detainee was one of Usama bin Laden’s key operatives.
3. The detainee was involved in money laundering activities. The detainee wire United States currency three times for one of Usama bin Laden’s operatives.
4. The detainee stated that he attended a mosque in Duisburg, Germany where the director was the leader of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad in the area.

d. Intent

1. The detainee said that his goal while in Afghanistan was to become a martyr by dying for Islam. However, the detainee would fight in a battle and there would not be another one for months, thereby reducing his chances to be martyred.
2. The detainee is a suspected facilitator of the failed millennium bombing conspiracy.

e. Other Relevant Data

1. In January 2000, the detainee departed Canada to travel to Mauritania. On the way to Mauritania, the detainee was detained in Dakar, Senegal where he was questioned and released after four days.
2. In April 2000, the detainee traveled from Mauritania to Germany where he was detained for three weeks and questioned by German authorities.
3. In September 2001, the Mauritanian Security Service detained the detainee after the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States.

The following primary factors favor release or transfer:

a. The detainee denied having knowledge of the attacks in the United States prior to their execution on 11 September 2001, and also denied knowledge of any rumors or plans of future attacks on the United States or U.S. interests.

b. The detainee stated that he did not know of Usama bin Laden’s operative’s involvement in terrorism when he transmitted money for him.

c. The detainee strongly denied that he had helped anyone travel to Chechnya or Afghanistan.

Transcript

Slahi chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.

See also

• Omar Khadr -- Canadian citizen, also detained in Guantanamo
• Abdurahman Khadr -- Canadian citizen formerly detained in Guantanamo
• Ahcène Zemiri -- Former resident of Canada, also detained in Guantanamo
• Djamel Ameziane -- Former resident of Canada, also detained in Guantanamo

External links

• Montrealer sold to U.S. troops Montreal Gazette reprint of Ottawa Citizen article about the other former Canadian resident, being held in Guantanamo Bay, that mentions Slahi, July 11, 2005 -mirror
• Verhör in Guantánamo, n-tv, December 15, 2005