Guantanamo Diary is the first-hand account of Mohamedou Ould Slahi's time spent not only in Guantanamo Bay, but within the confines of a variety of prisons and detention centres across several countries - all at the behest of the US government. 

 

The book was written and published while he was still in detention, which accounts for all the redactions within the text. It is made digestible only by knowing that Slahi has now been released after 14 years. 

 

Granted, Slahi had sworn a pledge to al-Qaeda in the 90s - which might sound alarming if you fail to remember that jihad was backed by the US at that time. Slahi's main fault, as it is made remarkably clear throughout the book, is that he knew some of the wrong people and had attended the wrong Mosque. 

 

Slahi surrendered himself. He was detained, interrogated and tortured for over a decade without any charge or evidence against him. Evidently, this was the case for a good portion of the detainees - people who were captured and turned over to US forces without due judicial process, and then interrogated until they provided false confessions implicating themselves and other innocent Muslims. 

 

Note that this was torture so bad that even the FBI disagreed with their tactics, and they were referred to as detainees, not prisoners, just so they could try to evade international laws protecting prisoners of war. 

 

Despite this, Slahi’s narration is compassionate, sharp and reliable - evidenced by Larry Siem’s footnotes, which match his claims to reports that were published detailing his capture and "Special Interrogation Plan.” His faith, humour and resistance are sustained throughout the manuscript. The book is important reading for anyone interested in the War on Terror and gives a personal testimony of its human cost.