List of Swedish detainees at Guantanamo Bay explained

The United States Department of Defense acknowledges holding one Swedish captive in Guantanamo.^{[1] [2]}

Mehdi Mohammad Ghezali, the sole Swedish captive in Guantanamo, was repatriated prior to the institution of the Combatant Status Review Tribunals.^[3] He was the subject of a feature-length documentary that has received worldwide distribution.

Ghazali was apprehended by Pakistani authorities in August 2009 with a dozen other individuals.^[4] Pakistani security officials claim the travelers planned to travel to Miranshah to meet with a Taliban leader. Ghezali says they were traveling to Lahore to attend a Tablighi Jamaat conference.

A young Swedish couple, Munir Awad and Safia Benaouda, who were visiting Somalia when it was invaded by Kenyan and Ethiopian forces in 2007, reported being captured by Kenyan soldiers who were led by Americans.^[5] They reported being held in secret detention centres run with American oversight, and being interrogated by American interrogators. They were set free after several months of extrajudicial detention.^[4] They were later captured with Ghezali in Pakistan.

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: Consolidated chronological listing of GTMO detainees released, transferred or deceased . . OARDEC . OARDEC . 2008-10-09 . 2008-12-28 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081227004519/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/09-F-0031_doc1.pdf . 2008-12-27 .
3. News: 7 ex-detainees return to fighting: Guantanamo release process called imperfect . 2004-10-18 . John J. Lumpkin . . In Sweden, Mehdi-Muhammed Ghezali, who was released in July after more than two years at the base, is being monitored by Swedish intelligence agents. While Sweden's security police, SAPO, gave no official comment, its agents have said Ghezali is not a threat. . https://archive.today/20060330135415/http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2004/10/18/7_ex_detainees_return_to_fighting?mode=PF . 2006-03-30 . dead.
4. News: Terror suspect Swedes still detained: Pakistan . 2009-09-16 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20090923030856/http://www.thelocal.se/22118/20090916 . 2009-09-23 . dead.
5. News: Lark to Africa descends into Somali nightmare . 2007-04-15 . Raymond Bonner . . https://web.archive.org/web/20170629013011/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/world/africa/15iht-sweden.4.5297577.html . 2017-06-29 . dead.