Guantánamo Diary: ‘If he wants a confession, I already provided one. Does he want me to resurrect the dead?’
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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/16/-sp-guantanamo-diary-false-confession-slahi Version 0 of 1. In autumn 2003, soon after his false rendition, Slahi was moved to a blacked-out isolation cell built specifically for his interrogation. A delegation from the International Committee of the Red Cross that visited in September was not allowed to meet with him. Eventually, his interrogators presented him with a proposition. “_________________ wants to see you in a couple of days,” _________ said. I was so terrified; at this point I was just fine without his visit. “He is welcome,” I said. I started to go to the toilet relentlessly. My blood pressure went crazily high. I was wondering what the visit would be like. But thank God the visit was much easier than what I thought. _____________ came, escorted by _________. He was, as always, practical and brief. “I am very happy with your cooperation. Remember when I told you that I preferred civilised conversations? I think you have provided 85% of what you know, but I am sure you’re gonna provide the rest,” he said, opening an ice bag with some juice. “Oh, yeah, I’m also happy!” I said, forcing myself to drink the juice just to act as if I were normal. But I wasn’t: I was like, 85% is a big step coming out of his mouth. _____________ advised me to keep cooperating. “I brought you this present,” he said, handing me a pillow. Yes, a pillow. I received the present with a fake overwhelming happiness, and not because I was dying to get a pillow. No, I took the pillow as a sign of the end of the physical torture. ‘I brought you this present,’ he said, handing me a pillow We have a joke back home about a man who stood bare naked on the street. When someone asked him, “How can I help you?” He replied, “Give me shoes.” And that was exactly what happened to me. All I needed was a pillow! But it was something: alone in my cell, I kept reading the tag over and over. “Remember when _____________ told you about the 15% you’re holding back,” said _________ a couple of days after _______________ visit. “I believe that your story about Canada doesn’t make sense. You know what we have against you, and you know what the FBI has against you,” he continued. “So what would make sense?” I asked. “You know exactly what makes sense,” he said sardonically. “You’re right, I was wrong about Canada. What I did exactly was …” “I want you to write down what you’ve just said. It made perfect sense and I understood, but I want it on paper.” “My pleasure, Sir!” I said. --- I came to Canada with a plan to blow up the CN Tower in Toronto. My accomplices were ________________________________________________________ and ___________. ___________ went to Russia to get us the supply of explosives. _____________ wrote an explosives simulation software that I picked up, tested myself, and handed in a data medium to ______________. The latter was supposed to send it with the whole plan to _____________ in London so we could get the final fatwa from the Sheikh. _________ was supposed to buy a lot of sugar to mix with the explosives in order to increase the damage. ______________ provided the financing. Thanks to Canadian intel, the plan was discovered and sentenced to failure. I admit that I am as guilty as any other participants and am so sorry and ashamed for what I have done. Signed, M.O. Slahi I hoped I was involved in something so I could admit to it and relieve myself of writing about every Muslim I ever met When I handed the paper to __________________, he read it happily. “This statement makes perfect sense.” “If you’re ready to buy, I am selling,” I said. ______________ could hardly hold himself on the chair; he wanted to leave immediately. I guess the prey was big, and _____________ was overwhelmed because he reached a breakthrough where no other interrogators had, in spite of almost four years of uninterrupted interrogation from all kinds of agencies from more than six countries. What a success! ______________ almost had a heart attack from happiness. “I’ll go see him!” I think the only unhappy person in the team was _______, because ____ doubted the truthfulness of the story. Indeed the next day _________________ came to see me, escorted as always by his ______________. “Remember when I told about the 15% you were holding back?” “Yes, I do.” “I think this confession covered that 15%!” I was like, Hell, yes! “I am happy that it did,” I said. “Who provided the money?” “_________ did. “And you, too?” _____________ asked. “No, I took care of the electrical part.” I don’t really know why I denied the financial part. Did it really make a difference? Maybe I just wanted to maintain the consistency. “What if we tell you that we found your signature on a fake credit card?” said ______________. I knew he was bullshitting me because I knew I never dealt with such dubious things. But I was not going to argue with him. “Just tell me the right answer. Is it good to say yes or to say no?” I asked. At that point I hoped I was involved in something so I could admit to it and relieve myself of writing about every practicing Muslim I ever met, and every Islamic organisation I ever heard of. It would have been much easier to admit to a true crime and say that’s that. “This confession is consistent with the intels we and other agencies possess,” _____________ said. “I am happy.” “Is the story true?” asked __________. “Look, these people I was involved with are bad people anyway, and should be put under lock and key. And as to myself, I don’t care as long as you are pleased. So if you want to buy, I am selling.” “But we have to check with the other agencies, and if the story is incorrect, they’re gonna find out,” _______________ I used every opportunity to make myself look as bad as I could “If you want the truth, this story didn’t happen,” I said sadly. __________ had brought some drinks and candies that I forced myself to swallow. They tasted like dirt because I was so nervous. __________ took his ______ outside and pitted him on me. ____________ came back harassing me and threatening me with all kinds of suffering and agony. __________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________. “You know how it feels when you experience our wrath,” ____________ said. I was like, what the heck does this asshole want from me? If he wants a confession, I already provided one. Does he want me to resurrect the dead? Does he want me to heal his blindness? I am not a prophet, nor does he believe in them. “The Bible is just the history of the Jewish people, nothing more,” he used to say. If he wants the truth, I told him I have done nothing! I couldn’t see a way out. “Yes … Yes! … Yes!” After ____________ made me sweat to the last drop in my body, _________________ called him and gave him advice about the next tactics. ___________ left and _____________ continued. “_________________ has overall control. If he is happy everybody is. And if he isn’t, nobody is.” ______________ started to ask me other questions about other things, and I used every opportunity to make myself look as bad as I could. “I’m going to leave you alone with papers and pen, and I want you to write everything you remember about your plan in Canada!” “Yes, Sir.” Two days later, they were back at my door. Redactions marked in the text were made by the US government when Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s diary was cleared for public release • Listen to live and recorded readings by Brian Eno, Colin Firth and others, as well as a panel discussion with Slahi’s lawyer and brother about this remarkable account of imprisonment. Guardian Live: Guantánamo Diary, Tuesday 20 January, 7pm, London • Guantanamo Diary is published on Tuesday 20 January. To buy a copy for £15 (RRP £20), visit bookshop.theguardian.com or call the Guardian Bookshop on 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p on online orders over £10. A £1.99 charge applies to telephone orders |