Ahmed Errachidi
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Ahmed Rashidi (also known as Ahmed Errachidi) is a citizen of
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
who was held in
extrajudicial detention Administrative detention is arrest and detention of individuals by the state without trial. A number of jurisdictions claim that it is done for security reasons. Many countries claim to use administrative detention as a means to combat terrorism ...
in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, also known as GTMO ( ), GITMO ( ), or simply Guantanamo Bay, is a United States military prison within Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB), on the coast of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It was established in 2002 by p ...
s, in
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. Rashidi's Guantanamo ISN was 590. The
Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...
reports that he was born on March 17, 1966, in
Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...
, Morocco. Rashidi's lawyer,
Clive Stafford Smith Clive Adrian Stafford Smith (born 9 July 1959) is a British attorney who specialises in the areas of civil rights and working against capital punishment in the United States. He worked to overturn death sentences for convicts, and helped foun ...
, wrote an article in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' on June 14, 2006, commenting on the American reaction to the three Guantanamo detainees who committed suicide on June 10, 2006.Cultural sensitivity, Guantánamo Bay style
''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', June 14, 2006
Smith comments focused on what he characterized as the camp authority's leaders plans to prevent future suicides by increasing their brutality. In particular he commented on
Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
Michael Bumgarner's announcement that he would send a five-man riot squad in to conduct a Forcible Cell Entry to forcibly strip Rashidi of his brown coveralls.Guards tighten security to prevent more deaths
''
The Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. It is owned by Chatham Asset ...
'', June 13, 2006
Smith said that Rashidi had already had mental and emotional problems prior to being sent to the camp.


Combatant Status Review

Rashidi did not attend his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.


Habeas corpus documents

Rashidi had a
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...
petition submitted on his behalf. As a consequence a dossier of documents from his CSR Tribunal was published. Rashishi's dossier was 19 pages long. His status was reviewed by
Tribunal panel 13 A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...
, on October 7, 2004. His
Personal Representative In common law jurisdictions, a personal representative or legal personal representative is a person appointed by a court to administer the estate of another person. If the estate being administered is that of a deceased person, the personal repres ...
notes from the meeting where the Summary of Evidence memo was read to Rashidi stated:


Administrative Review Board

Detainees whose
Combatant Status Review Tribunal The Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRT) were a set of tribunals for confirming whether detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp had been correctly designated as " enemy combatants". The CSRTs were establi ...
labeled them "enemy combatants" were scheduled for annual
Administrative Review Board The Administrative Review Board is a United States military body that conducts an annual review of the detainees held by the United States in Camp Delta at the United States Navy base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The purpose o ...
hearings. These hearings were designed to assess the threat a detainee might pose if released or transferred, and whether there were other factors that warranted his continued detention. Documents from Rashidi's CSR Tribunal indicated he had been confirmed as an "enemy combatant", and was going to start having annual
Administrative Review Board The Administrative Review Board is a United States military body that conducts an annual review of the detainees held by the United States in Camp Delta at the United States Navy base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The purpose o ...
hearings. However, records the Department of Defense published in September 2007 showed that no annual reviews were convened for him. There is no record any Summary of Evidence memos were prepared for annual review boards. Prior to his repatriation Rashidi was described as a captive who had been cleared for release. But there is no record that an Administrative Review Board drafted a decision memos recommending his release or transfer.


The Boston Globe investigations

On July 14, 2006 ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' reported on investigations they made to test the credibility of the allegations against Guantanamo detainees.Guantanamo accusations questioned after review turns up basic errors
, ''
The Jurist ''The Jurist: Studies in Church Law and Ministry'' or simply ''The Jurist'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal and the only journal published in the United States devoted to the study and promotion of the canon law of the Catholic Church. It wa ...
'', July 14, 2006
Rashidi was one of the detainees who they profiled.Factual errors cited in cases against detainees: Lawyers demand new trial system at Guantanamo
''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'', July 14, 2006
The Globe reported that Rashidi was alleged to have been attended the al Farouq training camp in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. According to the Globe:
the US military has accused Ahmed Errachidi... of 'receiving training at the Al Farooq training camp in July 2001, to include weapons training, war tactics, and bomb making.' according to a summary of evidence for his initial hearing provided to the Globe by his lawyers at Reprieve, a British legal-services organization.
But Chris Chang, an investigator for Reprieve, uncovered pay stubs showing that Errachidi had been a chef in two London restaurants, the Westbury and the Archduke, in July 2001. Chang's office provided copies of the pay stubs to the Globe.


Sleep deprivation

On August 7, 2008 ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
' reported that the Guantanamo guards defied their orders to discontinue the illegal practice of arbitrarily moving captives multiples times a day to deprive them of sleep. The report stated that Ahmed Rashidi was routinely having six-hour interrogations in the middle of the night, followed by a series of cell relocations. Guards called this practice the "
frequent flyer program A frequent-flyer programme (FFP) is a loyalty program offered by an airline. Many airlines have frequent-flyer programmes designed to encourage airline customers enrolled in the programme to accumulate points (also called miles, kilometres, ...
".


Reported to have been cleared for release

Lieutenant-Colonel David Cooper, of the
Office for the Administrative Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants The Office for the Administrative Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants, established in 2004 by the Bush administration's Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, is a United States military body responsible for organising Combatant S ...
, wrote Rashidi's lawyers on February 22, 2007. He wrote that Rashidi and another man, Ahmed Belbacha, had: ''"...been approved to leave Guantanamo, after diplomatic arrangements for their departure had been made."'' British officials continued to decline to make efforts on behalf of the Guantanamo captives who were British residents, but not British citizens. A close friend back in the United Kingdom, Abderrazzak Sakim, and
Clive Stafford Smith Clive Adrian Stafford Smith (born 9 July 1959) is a British attorney who specialises in the areas of civil rights and working against capital punishment in the United States. He worked to overturn death sentences for convicts, and helped foun ...
, told the
Islington Gazette The ''Islington Gazette'' is a weekly paid-for newspaper covering the borough of Islington in north London, England. It was established as the ''Daily Gazette'' in 1856, publishing twice weekly from 1926. It was owned by Independent News & Media ...
, his local paper, that they were concerned that if he were repatriated to Morocco, he would be promptly subjected to abusive detention in a Moroccan prison. The paper reports that Rashidi spent three years in solitary confinement, and has been subjected to beatings and pepper spraying. The paper quotes
Emily Thornberry Dame Emily Anne Thornberry, Lady Nugee (born 27 July 1960), is a British Labour politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington South and Finsbury since 2005. She served as Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales from ...
, his local Member of Parliament:
Guantanamo Bay is an affront to international law. While Ahmed Errachidi has been in Guantanamo he has been subject to appalling abuse and has suffered at least one severe mental breakdown. He should never have been in Guantanamo Bay and he certainly shouldn't be there for a moment longer. It's completely unacceptable that Ahmed should be left in limbo like this, while the international community wrings its hands about the detainees the US no longer wants. Surely he has more than sufficient compassionate grounds to be allowed to come back to Britain. Ahmed must be released immediately and I have written to George Bush to tell him so.


Repatriation and release

The Department of Defense reported, on April 26, 2007, that two further captives had been repatriated, one to Morocco, one to Afghanistan. Initially the DoD declined to release the two men's names. But it soon became known that Ahmed Rashidi was the Moroccan man, that he hadn't been released to a third country. Rashidi was not charged, but he was detained by Moroccan authorities, when he was repatriated. Rashidi was released on Thursday, May 3, 2007. ''
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
'' reports that Rashidi had traveled to Pakistan, where he was captured in late 2001, to try to raise funds for a heart operation for his young son. Reuters reports that Rashidi described hearing his Pakistani captors negotiate, with US officials, the size of the bounty they would receive for turning him over.


2009 interview with Michelle Shephard

In March 2009 Rashidi was interviewed, by email from his home in
Tangiers Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Morocco. Many c ...
, by ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...
'' reporter
Michelle Shephard Michelle Shephard (born 1972) is an independent investigative reporter (previously with the ''Toronto Star'' newspaper), author and filmmaker. She has been awarded the Michener Award for public service journalism and won Canada's top newspaper pr ...
, the author of ''
Guantanamo's Child ''Guantanamo's Child'' is a 2015 Canadian documentary film. Directed by Patrick Reed (director), Patrick Reed and Michelle Shephard based on Shephard's 2009 book ''Guantanamo's Child: The Untold Story of Omar Khadr'', the film profiles Omar Khadr, ...
'', a book about Guantanamo captive
Omar Khadr Omar Ahmed Said Khadr (; born September 19, 1986) is a Canadian who, at the age of 15, was detained by the United States at Guantanamo Bay for ten years, during which he pleaded guilty to the murder of U.S. Army Sergeant 1st Class Christopher S ...
, who was a minor when he was captured and sent to Guantanamo. According to Shephard, Rashidi said their fellow captives felt particularly sorry for Khadr, because he was so young, and because they could tell when it was his turn to be subjected to brutal interrogation techniques.


Memoir

In early 2013 Errachidi published a memoir, ''" The General: The ordinary man who challenged Guantanamo"''. According to Marco Giannangeli, who reviewed the book for the ''
Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...
'', Errachidi believed that he continued to be targeted for aggressive interrogation, years after his total innocence had been established, because the US military used Guantanamo as a school to train new interrogators. Giannangeli reported that Errachidi described how the Guantanamo guards were taken to ''"ground zero"''—the site of the ruins of the
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may also refer to: Buildings * World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...
, so that they were ''"already consumed by hatred with the conviction we were the worst of the worst"''. Giannangeli reported how Errachidi found being one of the limited number of captives who spoke English singled him out for special attention from the guards and interrogators, and forced him to serve as an unofficial leader within the captive community. Guards nicknamed Errachidi ''"The General"''. The book was co-written by
Gillian Slovo Gillian Slovo (born 15 March 1952) is a South African-born writer who lives in the UK. She was a recipient of the Golden PEN Award. Early life and education Gillian Slovo was born on 15 March 1952 in Johannesburg, South Africa, a daughter of Jo ...
, the South African writer and filmmaker. Paddy McGuffin, writing in '' The Morning Star Online'', called the book a "damning indictment of the policy of extra-judicial detention as well as a fascinating account of an innocent man's fight to prevent himself being buried alive under the full weight of US officialdom."


2013 interview for New American Media

In May, at the height of the 2013 hunger strike Rachedi was interviewed by the '' New American Media''. Rachidi said he had engaged in many hunger strikes, and described what being on a hunger strike is like. He disputed the assertions from US officials that the hunger strike was simply intended to win the captives a return to less harsh conditions. Rather, Rachidi asserted the hunger strike was ultimately the captives way of fighting for justice. Rachidi said that, since the captives were older and more frail than they were during previous hunger strikes, he feared captives would die during this strike. Rachidi said that he has not been allowed to get a new passport, even for attending the launch of his memoir.


Open letter to President Biden

On January 29, 2021, the ''
New York Review of Books New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...
'' published an open letter from Rachidi, and six other individuals who were formerly held in Guantanamo, to newly inaugurated
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
, appealing to him to close the detention camp.


See also

* Guantanamo hunger strikers *
Hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...
*
Sleep deprivation Sleep deprivation, also known as sleep insufficiency or sleeplessness, is the condition of not having adequate duration and/or quality of sleep to support decent alertness, performance, and health. It can be either Chronic (medicine), chronic ...
*
Solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...


References


External links


The Perils of Return: Repatriated to Torture
Andy Worthington * Michael Pye
Worst of the worst?
''
The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...
'', June 2, 2007
Deals with dictators undermined by British request for return of five Guantánamo detainees
Andy Worthington {{DEFAULTSORT:Errachidi, Ahmed Moroccan chefs Moroccan extrajudicial prisoners of the United States 1966 births Living people Guantanamo detainees known to have been released