Mourad Benchellali
Encyclopedia
Mourad Benchellali is a French citizen
, who was captured and detained in the United States
Guantanamo Bay detention camps. His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 161.
Benchellali is the younger brother of Menad Benchellali
, an alleged graduate of the Derunta training camp
, who it is claimed, received chemical weapons training.
Benchellali and Nizar Sassi are alleged to have traveled to Afghanistan on forged passports.
Benchellali is reported to have directed Mourad, and a friend, Nizar Sassi
, to go Afghanistan.
Benchellali was transferred from US custody to French custody in July 2004. Although originally convicted in France, his trial was overturned and he was released in February 2009.
On February 17, 2010, the Court of Cassation
, a higher court, ordered a re-trial of the five men.
, his capture, and detention.
Following the first three suicides at Guantanamo the New York Times published an op-ed by Benchellali, entitled "Detainees in despair".
In the op-ed Benchellali described how he came to spend two months in an al Qaeda training camp:
Benchellali said that his training didn't make him an enemy of the United States, that as soon as his course was finished he made his way to the Pakistan border, so he could fly back to France. But, by the time he got there he learned of the al Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001, and that, as a result, the border was closed. He crossed the border through an unguarded mountain pass, but was soon captured by Pakistani authorities.
Benchellali concluded his op-ed with:
Benchellali acknowledged he was born in a radical family, but said he was not a radical beliefs himself:
During his interview Benchellali described his brother tricking him into traveling to Afghanistan, described what it was like to attend the training camp: a lot praying; lectures on jihad; physical training; some weapons training, which did not include any weapons.
Benchellali described one female interrogator who: "undressed in front of him as she purred questions".
They had their convictions overturned on appeal on February 24, 2009.
Their convictions were overturned because they were based on interrogations conducted in Guantanamo, and the interrogations were conducted by French security officials, not law enforcement officials.
On February 17, 2010, the Court of Cassation
, a higher court, ordered a re-trial of the five men.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, who was captured and detained in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Guantanamo Bay detention camps. His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 161.
Benchellali is the younger brother of Menad Benchellali
Menad Benchellali
Menad Benchellali is a suspected terrorist arrested in France on January 6, 2004.Benchellali is alleged to have been an al Qaeda chemical weapons specialist.Benchellali is alleged to have attended the derunta training camp in Afghanistan....
, an alleged graduate of the Derunta training camp
Derunta training camp
The Derunta training camp was one of the most well-known of many military training camps that have been alleged to have been affiliated with al Qaeda.-Training with poisons:...
, who it is claimed, received chemical weapons training.
Benchellali and Nizar Sassi are alleged to have traveled to Afghanistan on forged passports.
Benchellali is reported to have directed Mourad, and a friend, Nizar Sassi
Nizar Sassi
Nizar Sassi is a citizen of France who was detained by the United States in their naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 325....
, to go Afghanistan.
Benchellali was transferred from US custody to French custody in July 2004. Although originally convicted in France, his trial was overturned and he was released in February 2009.
On February 17, 2010, the Court of Cassation
Court of Cassation (France)
The French Supreme Court of Judicature is France's court of last resort having jurisdiction over all matters triable in the judicial stream but only scope of review to determine a miscarriage of justice or certify a question of law based solely on points of law...
, a higher court, ordered a re-trial of the five men.
Accounts of his detention
Benchellali has published a book describing his experience traveling to AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, his capture, and detention.
Following the first three suicides at Guantanamo the New York Times published an op-ed by Benchellali, entitled "Detainees in despair".
In the op-ed Benchellali described how he came to spend two months in an al Qaeda training camp:
- "In the early summer of 2001, when I was 19, I made the mistake of listening to my older brother and going to Afghanistan on what I thought was a dream vacation. His friends, he said, were going to look after me. They did — channeling me to what turned out to be a Qaeda training camp. For two months, I was there, trapped in the middle of the desert by fear and my own stupidity."
Benchellali said that his training didn't make him an enemy of the United States, that as soon as his course was finished he made his way to the Pakistan border, so he could fly back to France. But, by the time he got there he learned of the al Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001, and that, as a result, the border was closed. He crossed the border through an unguarded mountain pass, but was soon captured by Pakistani authorities.
Benchellali concluded his op-ed with:
- "I believe that a small number of the detainees at Guantánamo are guilty of criminal acts, but as analysis of the military's documents on the prisoners has shown, there is no evidence that most of the 465 or so men there have committed hostile acts against the United States or its allies. Even so, what I heard so many times resounding from cage to cage, what I said myself so many times in my moments of complete despondency, was not, "Free us, we are innocent!" but "Judge us for whatever we've done!" There is unlimited cruelty in a system that seems to be unable to free the innocent and unable to punish the guilty."
The McClatchy interview
On June 15, 2008 the McClatchy News Service published articles based on interviews with 66 former Guantanamo captives. McClatchy reporters interviewed Mourad Benchellali in France.Benchellali acknowledged he was born in a radical family, but said he was not a radical beliefs himself:
During his interview Benchellali described his brother tricking him into traveling to Afghanistan, described what it was like to attend the training camp: a lot praying; lectures on jihad; physical training; some weapons training, which did not include any weapons.
Benchellali described one female interrogator who: "undressed in front of him as she purred questions".
French trial
Benchellali, and four other French citizens, were convicted in 2007 of "criminal association with a terrorist enterprise."They had their convictions overturned on appeal on February 24, 2009.
Their convictions were overturned because they were based on interrogations conducted in Guantanamo, and the interrogations were conducted by French security officials, not law enforcement officials.
On February 17, 2010, the Court of Cassation
Court of Cassation (France)
The French Supreme Court of Judicature is France's court of last resort having jurisdiction over all matters triable in the judicial stream but only scope of review to determine a miscarriage of justice or certify a question of law based solely on points of law...
, a higher court, ordered a re-trial of the five men.
See also
- Nizar SassiNizar SassiNizar Sassi is a citizen of France who was detained by the United States in their naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 325....
- Imad KanouniImad KanouniImad Achab Kanouni is a French citizen who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. Kanouni was captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and transferred to France on July 26, 2004...
- Brahim YadelBrahim YadelBrahim Yadel is a citizen of France held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 371,...
- Karim BourtiKarim BourtiKarim Bourti is a citizen of Algeria, and former citizen of France, who was convicted of an association with terrorism.A French court convicted Karim Bourti of on association with terrorism in 1998....
- A Profile of 517 Detainees through Analysis of Department of Defense Data