View source for Slimane Hadj Abderrahmane

{{Short description|Guantanamo Bay detainee}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Unreliable sources|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox War on Terror detainee
| name = Slimane Hadj Abderrahmane
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1973|8|5}}<ref>[https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/82481-isn-323-slimane-hadj-abderrahmane-jtf-gtmo/e005ab7d82112fd7/full.pdf Memorandum for Commander, United States Southern Command] Department of Defense. Retrieved 4 February 2023</ref>
| birth_place = [[Roskilde]], [[Denmark]]
| detained_at = [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp|Guantanamo]]
| id_number = 323
| charge = No charge<br />[[Extrajudicial detention]]
| occupation = Postman
| status = Repatriated
| image = Slimane-Hadj-Abderrahmane RIP.jpg
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2013|2|16|1973|8|5}}
| death_place = [[Syria]]
| arrest_date = 2002
| arrest_place = [[Pakistan]]
| release_date = 2004
| release_place = Denmark
| arresting_authority = 
| citizenship = Danish
}}

'''Slimane Hadj Abderrahmane''' (5 August 1973 – 16 February 2013) was a Danish citizen who was held in [[extrajudicial detention]] in the [[United States]] [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp]]s, in [[Cuba]].<ref name=DoDList2>{{cite web |url=http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf |title=List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006 |publisher=[[United States Department of Defense]] |date=15 May 2006 |access-date=29 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184034/http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf |archive-date=30 September 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 323. The [[US Department of Defense]] reports he was born on 5 August 1973, in [[Roskilde]], Denmark.<ref name=helenin>{{cite news |author1=Helen Russell |title=From techno DJ in Denmark to martyrdom fighting Assad in Syria: the life and death of Slimane Hadj Abderrahmane |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/from-techno-dj-in-denmark-to-martyrdom-fighting-assad-in-syria-the-life-and-death-of-slimane-hadj-abderrahmane-8548987.html |access-date=4 February 2023 |work=Independent |date=25 March 2013}}</ref> His mother is Danish and his father is [[Algeria]]n.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3704176.stm |work=BBC News |title=Danish detainee 'to join rebels' |date=30 September 2004 |access-date=23 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061219185224/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3704176.stm |archive-date=19 December 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref> When he was eight his family returned to Algeria, but his mother moved back to Denmark a year later.<ref name=helenin /> Then he lived with his paternal grandmother.<ref name=helenin />

In 1993 Abderrahmane left Algeria and settled in [[Randers]], Denmark, where he joined a music group and worked as a DJ in a club.<ref name=helenin /> He attended [[Aarhus University]] until 1998, but he did not complete his studies.<ref name=helenin />

He is reported to have been inspired to travel to Afghanistan in the late 1990s at the {{ill|Grimhøj Mosque|da|Grimhøjmoskeen}}, founded by an [[Algeria]]n refugee named [[Athme Meheri]].<ref name=DanskJournalistforbund>{{cite news |url=http://nydj.inforce.dk/sw96565.asp |title=Morten Skjoldager |work=[[Dansk Journalistforbund]] |year=2009 |accessdate=7 April 2010}}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Danish journalist {{ill|Morten Skjoldager|da}} described Meheri's mosque as a "radical mosque" in his book ''Truslen indefra'' (The Threat from Within). Abderrahmane was captured, in December 2001, in Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border.<ref name=Bbc20040930>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3704176.stm |title=Danish detainee 'to join rebels' |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=30 September 2004 |access-date=5 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312202948/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3704176.stm |archive-date=12 March 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> He was transferred to Guantanamo on 10 February 2002.<ref name=OfficialGuantanamoWeights>{{cite web |url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/measurements/ |title=Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba |publisher=[[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] |author=JTF-GTMO |date=16 March 2007 |access-date=22 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125010428/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/measurements/ |archive-date=25 January 2009 |author-link=JTF-GTMO}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://humanrights.ucdavis.edu/resources/library/documents-and-reports/gtmo_heightsweights.pdf |title=Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (ordered and consolidated version) |publisher=[[Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas]], from DoD data |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613004352/http://humanrights.ucdavis.edu/resources/library/documents-and-reports/gtmo_heightsweights.pdf |archive-date=13 June 2010 |url-status=dead |access-date=22 April 2010}}</ref> He was repatriated to Denmark on 24 February 2004.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/09-F-0031_doc1.pdf |title=Consolidated chronological listing of GTMO detainees released, transferred or deceased |publisher=Department of Defense |date=9 October 2008 |access-date=28 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220004442/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/09-F-0031_doc1.pdf |archive-date=20 December 2008}}</ref>

Abderrahmane's explanation for how he came to be captured was that he had traveled there to enroll in an Afghan military training camp to undergoing training so he could go fight with Muslim rebels in [[Chechnya]].<ref name=Bbc20040930 /> Abderrahmane was held in Guantanamo Bay for over two years.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/040308/8gitmo.htm |title=Getting A Free Pass: Anger over a deal to release a 'terrorist' |work=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |date=8 March 2004 |access-date=5 January 2007 |author=Mark Mazzetti |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310194943/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/040308/8gitmo.htm |archive-date=10 March 2007 |url-status=live |author-link=Mark Mazzetti}}</ref><ref name=TheNaiveTerrorist>{{cite news |url=http://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/artikel/111066:Kultur--Den-naive-terrorist?page=1 |title=BØGER: Interessant, men problematisk interviewbog med den frigivne dansker fra Guatánamo-basen |language=da |trans-title=BOOKS: Interesting, but problematic interview with the Dane freed from Guatánamo base |work=[[Kristeligt Dagblad]] |date=9 June 2004 |author=Jakob Holm |access-date=7 April 2010 |quote=It is described as the big journalistic scoop that the two Politiken journalists Hans Davidsen-Nielsen and Matias Seidelin have tricked the now freed Dane from Guantanamo detention center in a northern Zealand holiday for five days, there to hear his whole story about religious awakening and 747 days in U.S. custody. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719154557/http://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/artikel/111066:Kultur--Den-naive-terrorist?page=1 |archive-date=19 July 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> According to an article in ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' he was released in spite of reservations from US security officials because the Danes had threatened to withdraw their troops if he was not released. Abderrahmane was the subject of a 2004 book entitled ''Den naive terrorist''.<ref name=TheNaiveTerrorist />

After his release, Abderrahmane announced plans to travel to fight in [[Chechnya]].<ref name=Bbc20040930 /> He said he regarded the document he signed promising not to take part in terrorist activity as "toilet paper". Danish security officials talked him out of his trip. He has said that Denmark's role in the [[History of Iraq (2003–2011)|Occupation of Iraq]] meant that he thought Danish leaders were legitimate military targets.<ref name=Bbc20040930 /> On 10 October 2007, in the [[Copenhagen]] suburb of Greve, Abderrahmane was sentenced to 10 months in jail for the theft of two passports and three credit cards which he used to withdraw more than 110,000 Danish kroner (approximately US$20,000).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives |title=Former Danish Guantanamo prisoner jailed for theft of passports, debit cards |work=[[BBC News]] |date=30 October 2007 |access-date=6 April 2010 }}{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=February 2022}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.document.no/2007/08/eksguantanamo_var_postbud_og_t.html |title=Eks-Guantanamo var postbud and og tyv |language=da |trans-title=Ex-Guantanamo was a postman and a thief |publisher=[[Document.no]] |date=27 August 2007 |author=Hans Rustad |access-date=7 April 2010 |quote=Abderrahmane was starting a new life with a new average name, in a secret address, and a job as postman. Now he is arrested for stealing two passports and three credit cards that he has taken out 100,000 dollars on. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822223005/http://www.document.no/2007/08/eksguantanamo_var_postbud_og_t.html |archive-date=22 August 2009}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=February 2022|certain=y}} The items were stolen from the mail sorting office where Abderrahmane was working under a new Danish name. Police only recovered a small proportion of the stolen money and it is unknown where or how the remainder of the money was spent. During the trial, Abderrahmane refused to testify. He also refused to speak to or co-operate with his assigned lawyer.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

In 2013, it was reported that he had been killed after joining the [[Syrian Civil War]] against [[Bashar al-Assad]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://cphpost.dk/news/international/danish-jihadist-reported-dead |title=Danish jihadist reported dead |work=[[The Copenhagen Post]] |date=19 February 2013 |archive-date=20 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130220210032/http://cphpost.dk/news/international/danish-jihadist-reported-dead |url-status=dead |quote=''Politiken'' newspaper reported, however, that Abderrahmane and another Danish citizen were killed on Saturday. |access-date=20 February 2013}}</ref> According to the ''[[Copenhagen Post]]'' Slimane was believed to be one of a number of Danish Muslims who had traveled to Syria to volunteer to help overthrow Assad.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/02/20/Danish-jihadist-killed-in-combat-in-Syria/UPI-53351361368669/ |title=Danish jihadist killed in combat in Syria |agency=[[United Press International]] |date=20 February 2013 |location=Copenhagen |archive-date=20 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130220160958/http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/02/20/Danish-jihadist-killed-in-combat-in-Syria/UPI-53351361368669/ |url-status=dead |quote=The Danish intelligence agency couldn't confirm, however, whether Abderrahmane, 39, had been killed, The Copenhagen Post reported. |access-date=21 February 2013}}</ref> ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]'' and ''[[Long War Journal]]'' wrote that Slimane's death underscored the international contribution to the Syrian opposition.<ref name=Reason2013-02-20>{{cite news |url=http://reason.com/blog/2013/02/20/death-of-danish-jihadist-highlights-inte |title=Death of Danish Jihadist Highlights International Makeup of Assad's Opposition |author=Matthew Feeney |date=20 February 2013 |archive-date=21 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130221023050/http://reason.com/blog/2013/02/20/death-of-danish-jihadist-highlights-inte |url-status=dead |quote=Many jihadists have been fighting and dying in the Syrian conflict, and the death of Abderrahmane is at first glance nothing particularly worth noting. However, Abderrahmane's death highlights the international nature of the Syrian conflict and the different ideals motivating Assad's diverse opposition. |access-date=21 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/02/ex-guantanamo_detain_1.php |title=Ex-Guantanamo detainee reportedly killed in Syria |work=[[Long War Journal]] |author=Thomas Joscelyn |date=20 February 2013 |archive-date=21 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130221023607/http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/02/ex-guantanamo_detain_1.php |url-status=dead |quote=The Facebook page for a group named Islamisk Budskab in Denmark announced Abderrahmane's martyrdom earlier this week. The group, which has al Qaeda in Iraq's flag on the header of its Facebook page, said that Danes should be "proud" of Abderrahmane because he finally achieved his goal. |access-date=21 February 2013}}</ref>

On 25 August 2014, the [[High Court of Eastern Denmark]] refused to issue a legal finding of death regarding Slimane Hahj Abderrahmane. The appeals court did not find any facts sufficiently substantiated an assumption of death.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://politiken.dk/indland/ECE2378476/landsret-naegter-at-erklaere-syrienkriger-for-doed/ |title=Landsret nægter at erklære Syrienkriger for død – Politiken.dk |date=27 August 2014 |access-date=7 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209103508/http://politiken.dk/indland/ECE2378476/landsret-naegter-at-erklaere-syrienkriger-for-doed/ |archive-date=9 December 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2011/07/18/wikileaks-and-the-guantanamo-prisoners-released-from-2002-to-2004-part-four-of-ten/ WikiLeaks and the Guantánamo Prisoners Released from 2002 to 2004 (Part Four of Ten)] Andy Worthington

{{WoTPrisoners|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abderrahmane, Slimane Hadj}}
[[Category:1973 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:Danish extrajudicial prisoners of the United States]]
[[Category:Danish Muslims]]
[[Category:Danish people of Algerian descent]]
[[Category:Military personnel killed in the Syrian civil war]]
[[Category:Guantanamo detainees known to have been released]]
[[Category:People from Roskilde]]