In April, Slate introduced readers to Mohamedou Ould Slahi, whom the U.S. government has imprisoned in Guantanamo for nearly 11 years. We ran a three-part series of excerpts from the memoirs he penned in captivity, handwritten pages full of brutal descriptions of interrogation, torture, loneliness and loss. In the excerpts, Slahi—who could not be linked to any acts of terrorism—narrates his 2001 arrest in Mauritania, his “disappearance” and path through various detainment facilities, and finally his arrival at Guantanamo, where he now lives in peace and quiet with the guards who have become his family. If you haven’t yet read his devastating account, you should.
And soon you will be able to read his story in even greater detail: We’re pleased to announce that Slahi has inked a book deal with Little, Brown to publish his full memoirs. Thanks in part to his exposure on Slate, he will be the first and only Guantanamo prisoner who remains inside the facility to tell his story in print. If the excerpts are any indication, The Guantanamo Memoirs will be a harrowing and redemptive journey to the edges of one man’s experience, and a reminder of the importance of fundamental human rights. The book will be edited by the author Larry Siems, who also collaborated with us here at Slate. We’re glad that Slahi will soon be telling his story to the wider world in full.
