List of French detainees at Guantanamo Bay explained

The United States Department of Defense held seven French detainees in Guantanamo.^[1] All of those French detainees were released from the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp by 2005.

A total of 778 detainees have been held in extrajudicial detention in the Guantanamo detention camps, in Cuba since the camps opened on January 11, 2002. The camp population peaked in 2004 at approximately 660. Only nineteen new detainees, all "high value detainees" have been transferred there since the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Rasul v. Bush.

The last French citizens were repatriated in March 2005.^[2] Six of the men faced charges in France upon repatriation.^[3] Five of the men were convicted.Their convictions were overturned, on appeal, in February 2009.On February 17, 2010, the Court of Cassation, the highest court in France, ordered a re-trial of the five men.

French detainees in Guantanamo

French detainees in Guantanamo

isn	name	notes
161		Published a book on his experience. Claims he was misled into traveling to Afghanistan by his older brother Menad Benchellali. Acknowledges spending two months in a military training camp in Afghanistan, just prior al Qaeda's attacks on September 11, 2001. Claims he tried to leave Afghanistan; claims he never engaged in hostilities. Convicted of terrorism related offenses, and received a four-year sentence. Conviction overturned on appeal on February 24, 2009.
164
173		Convicted of terrorism related offenses in a French court upon his repatriation.^[4] Conviction overturned on appeal on February 24, 2009.
236		Convicted of terrorism related offenses in a French court upon his repatriation. Conviction overturned on appeal on February 24, 2009.
325		Also alleged to have been tricked into traveling to Afghanistan by Menad Benchellali. Convicted of terrorism related offenses in a French court upon his repatriation. Conviction overturned on appeal on February 24, 2009.
371		Convicted of terrorism related offenses in a French court upon his repatriation. Conviction overturned on appeal on February 24, 2009.
649	Mustaq Ali Patel	Allegedly provided a false identity to his interrogators.^[5] Allegedly initially identified himself as a Saudi. Denied all the allegations against him. Reported being tortured, to force him to falsely confess to being a Saudi. Saudi security officials visiting Guantanamo confirmed he was not a Saudi. His CSR Tribunal determined he had never been an "enemy combatant" after all.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Web site: List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006. OARDEC. OARDEC. United States Department of Defense. May 15, 2006. 2007-09-29.
2. News: Last of French Prisoners Return to France from Guantanamo. 2005-03-08. Voice of America. 2015-07-08. Note that there is a 2009 date above the article, but the actual date of the article is in the URL.
3. News: France orders 5 former Gitmo inmates back to court . . 2010-02-17 . Nicolas Vaux-Montagny . https://archive.today/20240524212048/https://www.webcitation.org/5ncgJRbGQ?url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5glw9fmMmPBK6o3H7k_lzmjIR4rBwD9DU5QC00 . 2024-05-24 . dead.
4. News: Paris Court Acquits Former Guantanamo Detainees. Huffington Post. 2009-02-24. 2009-02-24.
5. Web site: Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Patel, Mustaq Ali (Al Akram, Muhammad Ibn Ismail) . 15 . . OARDEC . OARDEC . 3 December 2004 . 2008-07-14 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080510103354/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/000500-000599.pdf#15 . 10 May 2008.
6. Web site: Detainees Found to No Longer Meet the Definition of "Enemy Combatant" during Combatant Status Review Tribunals Held at Guantanamo. United States Department of Defense. November 19, 2007. 2008-04-15. 2018-12-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20181215115511/http://media.miamiherald.com/smedia/2008/03/27/20/NLEC_DetaineeList.source.prod_affiliate.56.pdf. dead.