Mohammad Lameen Sidi Mohammad
Encyclopedia
Mohammad Lameen Sidi Mohammad is a joint citizen of Mauritania
and Niger
, who was held in extrajudicial detention
in the United States
's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba
.
The Department of Defense reports that he was born on September 10, 1981, in Zandeer, Niger.
Amnesty International
reports he was captured in Pakistan in April 2002.
They report he was 17 or 18 years old when he was captured.
By their account he was captured in Peshawar
, Pakistan
; spent time in Bagram
, where brutal interrogations forced a false confession from him. They report he was sexually abused in Bagram, and hung from the ceiling by his arms for days at a time. He said a guard would shake him awake every time he slumped. Amnesty says that months of abuse broke his will, and he agreed to false confessions.
for religious study.
He then traveled to Pakistan
, for further religious study.
He said he was arrested as part of a general sweep of foreigners in Peshawar
, in April 2001.
He claims he was first tortured in Pakistani custody, by interrogators who wanted him to confess to being a Saudi citizen.
He reports he was then sold to the USA for a bounty, and held in Bagram, where he was tortured by sleep deprivation, beatings, and being made to stand with his hands bound above his head.
He was transferred to Guantanamo in August 2002, and reports he was subjected to abusive interrogation there too.
In response, on 8 September 2006,
the Department of Defense released 22
pages of unclassified documents related to his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.
Mohammad was released from Mauritian custody after several days of debriefing.
He described witnessing guards urinating on the Koran.
Mohammad said he was one of the captive who responded to the Koran desecration by going on a hunger strike.
Mohammad described being force-fed during the hunger strike.
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
and Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, who was held in extrajudicial detention
Extrajudicial detention
Arbitrary or extrajudicial detention is the detention of individuals by a state, without ever laying formal charges against them.Although it has a long history of legitimate use in wartime , detention without charge, sometimes in secret, has been one of the hallmarks of totalitarian states...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
The Department of Defense reports that he was born on September 10, 1981, in Zandeer, Niger.
Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
reports he was captured in Pakistan in April 2002.
They report he was 17 or 18 years old when he was captured.
By their account he was captured in Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
; spent time in Bagram
Bagram
Bagram , founded as Alexandria on the Caucasus and known in medieval times as Kapisa, is a small town and seat in Bagram District in Parwan Province of Afghanistan, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir...
, where brutal interrogations forced a false confession from him. They report he was sexually abused in Bagram, and hung from the ceiling by his arms for days at a time. He said a guard would shake him awake every time he slumped. Amnesty says that months of abuse broke his will, and he agreed to false confessions.
Background
Mohammad said he left Mauritania when he was seventeen years old, to travel to Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
for religious study.
He then traveled to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, for further religious study.
He said he was arrested as part of a general sweep of foreigners in Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, in April 2001.
He claims he was first tortured in Pakistani custody, by interrogators who wanted him to confess to being a Saudi citizen.
He reports he was then sold to the USA for a bounty, and held in Bagram, where he was tortured by sleep deprivation, beatings, and being made to stand with his hands bound above his head.
He was transferred to Guantanamo in August 2002, and reports he was subjected to abusive interrogation there too.
Habeas corpus
A writ of habeas corpus, Mohammad Lameen Sid Mohammad v. George W. Bush, was submitted on his behalf.In response, on 8 September 2006,
the Department of Defense released 22
pages of unclassified documents related to his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.
Repatriation
Mohammad was transferred to Mauritania on September 26, 2007.Mohammad was released from Mauritian custody after several days of debriefing.
Allegations of abuse
Mohammad described being physically and mentally abused, in Guantanamo.He described witnessing guards urinating on the Koran.
Mohammad said he was one of the captive who responded to the Koran desecration by going on a hunger strike.
Mohammad described being force-fed during the hunger strike.