Mohamedou Ould Slahi

About the Author

Mohamedou Ould Slahi is a Mauritanian author and engineer whose life took a dramatic turn following his 2002 arrest and subsequent detention at Guantánamo Bay, where he endured years of interrogation and isolation before his release in 2016 without charges. Born in 1970, Slahi grew up in a nomadic family, pursued higher education in Germany, and worked in Canada before his ordeal. His seminal work, Guantánamo Diary, originally published in 2015 with heavy redactions, offers a raw, introspective account of his experiences, blending unflinching honesty with profound reflections on humanity, faith, and resilience. The restored editions, including Guantánamo Diary: Restored Edition and Guantánamo Diary: The Fully Restored Text (Canons), reveal the full scope of his narrative, unfiltered by censorship. Now living freely in Mauritania, Slahi advocates for human rights and continues to write, inspiring readers worldwide with his voice of survival and hope.