London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

‘US misled me into joining Mujahideen, then tortured me for Al-Qaeda past’: Gitmo survivor says US ‘acted like fascists’ post-9/11

‘US misled me into joining Mujahideen, then tortured me for Al-Qaeda past’: Gitmo survivor says US ‘acted like fascists’ post-9/11

A former Islamist fighter who went to Afghanistan to fight the Soviets and later got caught up in the US War on Terror – spending 14 years in the Guantanamo prison as a result – spoke to RT as part of the Unheard Voices project.

In the early 1990s, Mohamedou Ould Slahi had a romantic notion of pursuing a noble cause, wanting to risk his life for something greater than himself. He traveled from Germany to Afghanistan with plans to join the Mujahideen. At the time, the Afghan Islamists were hailed as heroic freedom fighters, a ‘David’ who had defeated the ‘Goliath’ of the mighty Soviet Union and was on its way to topple the communist government in Kabul.

“Saudi Arabia, the Gulf countries, Germany, where I lived, supported Afghanistan. We used to watch movies. We used to watch news, documentaries about Afghanistan. And I decided to join the Mujahideen,” the former fighter recalled as he spoke to RT in Mauritania.


In reality, Afghanistan was engulfed in civil war, with various factions vying for resources and political power. The training camp where Slahi wound up was run by Al-Qaeda, founded just a few years prior by Osama Bin Laden, a son of a wealthy Saudi family who himself had joined and helped finance the US-backed – and armed – Mujahideen. Slahi said he had no idea he was pledging allegiance to an international terrorist organization.

“I was very young and I was very misinformed. This was a very big propaganda machine led by the US and its Western allies and Arab allies. They gave me a wrong picture,” he recalled.

"I thought it was a very good cause to free people and to establish a free country – I didn't even know then what a free country meant, to be honest."


Slahi's Afghan travels and a phone call from a cousin, an associate of Bin Laden, landed him firmly in the crosshairs of Western intelligence. He was investigated for possible terrorism connections when he lived in Canada, before returning home to Mauritania and, after 9/11, he was marked as a person of interest, whose rights were irrelevant to Washington's drive for vengeance.

Eventually, Mauritanian authorities gave up Slahi to the US despite his cooperation. The Americans flew him between several locations under the CIA's ‘extraordinary rendition’ program – which saw terror suspects shipped off to foreign states for brutal interrogations – had him tortured and finally locked him up at the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

“I did confess to crimes I didn't do, because of torture,” he said.

"I was sleep-deprived; I was beaten till they broke my rib; I was not given food for very long periods of time; I was sexually assaulted on multiple occasions."

A drawing by Abu Zubaydah, another Guantanamo prisoner and terrorism suspect, depicts a CIA torture technique known as waterboarding, which simulates a sensation of drowning.


Slahi spent 14 years in jail without a trial before finally being released in 2016. His memoir, ‘Guantanamo Diary’ became an international bestseller a year earlier, when the US agreed to declassify it and allow its publication. A dramatization of this book was released earlier this year.

He said that while he used to believe the US is a country that respects the ‘rule of law,’ his experience in American custody was a rude awakening, noting that this had caused him further suffering.

"I understand the US is a democracy. But when it comes to Muslims, people of color – after 9/11 they did not respect the rule of law. It acted like a fascist regime."

Another drawing by Guantanamo prisoner Abu Zubaydah depicts an interrogation inside the US-run military prison.


RT interviewed Slahi in Mauritania, where he returned after regaining his freedom. He says he cannot travel internationally, because, as he believes, the US has pressured the African country to deny him a passport.

Slahi retold his story as part of a mini-documentary series ‘Unheard Voices,’ produced by RT in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the many people victimized as a direct consequence of the War on Terror that followed.


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×