From Homecoming to Guantánamo

This flow traces Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s return to Mauritania through repeated arrests, secret transfers, and years of imprisonment without charge.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

Return from Canada

A Homecoming Interrupted Return Journey After twelve years abroad, Mohamedou Ould Slahi left Canada for Mauritania, expecting to return to family and work. His route through Dakar instead became the start of a cycle of detention. First Arrest Senegalese authorities detained him at the request of the United States and questioned him about the Millennium Plot. The abrupt arrest turned an ordinary journey home into an international security case. Release Without Resolution Authorities found no basis to believe he was involved and released him in February. The case nevertheless remained open in American eyes, foreshadowing further arrests.

Second Mauritanian Detention

Suspicion Returns A Renewed Inquiry After the September 11 attacks, Mauritanian authorities detained Mohamedou Ould Slahi again and FBI agents questioned him about the Millennium Plot. The renewed scrutiny came despite his earlier release. Public Reassurance Mauritanian officials again released him and affirmed that he was not implicated. He returned to work, but his freedom depended on decisions made beyond his control. A Fragile Normality He resumed ordinary life and professional duties, including work connected with the Presidential Palace of Mauritania. The apparent return to routine concealed the next intervention already gathering force.

Secret Transfer to Jordan

Disappearance into Rendition Voluntary Compliance Police asked Mohamedou Ould Slahi to accompany them for questioning; he drove himself to the station, expecting to return home. That familiar act became the last moment of ordinary freedom for years. A Hidden Destination On November 28, Mauritanian authorities transferred him to a CIA rendition flight bound for Jordan. His family was given no notice of the transfer or reliable information about his whereabouts. A New Custody System Jordanian intelligence services held and interrogated him in secret for seven and a half months. The transfer widened the distance between his family, legal protections, and any public account of his case.

From Bagram to Guantánamo

A Journey Through Custody Another Rendition A CIA plane retrieved Mohamedou Ould Slahi from Jordan on July 19, 2002. Stripped, blindfolded, diapered, and shackled, he was flown to Bagram Air Base. Bagram Detention At Bagram, he endured isolation, threatening interrogations, and harsh confinement while trying to understand where he had been taken. He still hoped that American authorities would establish his innocence. Arrival at the Island On August 5, he reached Guantánamo with thirty-four other prisoners. The destination that interrogators had described as temporary became the setting for years of detention and abuse.

Years Without Release

The Long Detention Intensified Interrogation In 2003 the military subjected Mohamedou Ould Slahi to a specially approved interrogation plan involving isolation, threats, sexual humiliation, and sleep deprivation. The ordeal produced confessions he later described as false and coerced. A Legal Challenge He filed a handwritten habeas petition in 2005. In 2010, James Robertson ordered his release, but the government appealed and the case returned to the lower court. Unresolved Ending The memoir’s account closes with him still in Guantánamo, in the cell where he wrote. His legal status and the reasons for continuing detention remained unsettled, leaving the central journey without a homecoming.

January 2000

September–October 2001

November 2001

July–August 2002

2003–2013