Freed Gitmo man forgives torturers
‘GUANTANAMO DIARY’: He hopes world can live in peace
AFORMER Guantanamo Bay detainee from Mauritania, who wrote a best-selling book about his experiences, said on Saturday that he forgives those who tortured and detained him without trial for 14 years.
Mohamedou Ould Slahi arrived home in west Africa on Oct 17, bringing the prison’s population down to 60 as the United States accelerates releases from the facility.
Slahi’s Guantanamo Diary, an account of the abuse he suffered and the lack of due process, had made him famous. But speaking with his lawyers, he said: “I forgive everyone for the ill-treatment and injustice that I suffered.”
After reciting a Quranic verse on forgiveness, Slahi said he hoped that “the whole world can live in peace from now on”, thanking those who secured his release.
His lawyer, Brahim Ould Ebetty, said Slahi had instructed him not to bring a case against the US or Mauritania, which handed him over to the Americans in 2001. Ebetty said his client’s account “pricked the conscience of the world and laid bare the suffering of prisoners”.
He would require medical monitoring for the next decade following the physical suffering he endured in Guantanamo, Slahi’s doctor said.
In his book, Slahi described life inside the US base, saying: “I started to hallucinate and hear voices as clear as crystal.
“I heard my family in a casual familial conversation... I heard Quran readings in a heavenly voice. I was on the edge of losing my mind.”
Following the Sept 11 attacks, Slahi came under suspicion of involvement in an unsuccessful plot to bomb Los Angeles in 1999. He was taken to Guantanamo in August 2002, following interrogations in Jordan and Afghanistan. AFP