Key facts
- Mansoor Adayfi was 18 when he was sent to Guantanamo Bay.
- Adayfi was abducted in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks.
- He describes torture and humiliation during his transfer to Guantanamo.
- Adayfi argues the 'war on terror' machinery remains active and targets new individuals.
Mansoor Adayfi, who was sent to Guantanamo Bay at age 18, argues that the system enabling his imprisonment during the 'war on terror' persists and has found new targets. A former student from Yemen with dreams of studying computer science abroad, Adayfi found himself caught in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
He recounts being abducted in Afghanistan while assisting an NGO, eventually ending up in the hands of a warlord who demanded $100,000 for his release. Adayfi was then handed over to the CIA, despite having no knowledge of al-Qaeda or the Taliban. He describes being unlawfully detained at a makeshift US air base in Kandahar, where he witnessed other prisoners disappear.
Adayfi details the brutal processing he endured, including being stripped, shaved, and subjected to physical abuse by soldiers. He was then dressed in an orange jumpsuit and shackled before being loaded onto a plane. The journey involved continuous beatings, loud music, sensory deprivation, and extreme pain, leading him to believe he might die. Upon landing, he and other detainees were informed they were under the control of the United States Marines.