Becoming 'brothers' with my guard in Guantanamo Bay
Mauritanian engineer Mohamedou Salahi was detained on suspicion of being an Islamist extremist. He was released after 14 years with no charges and a new friend, guard Steve Wood.
In 2002, Mauritanian engineer Mohamedou Salahi was detained by American intelligence services. They believed he was a senior figure in al-Qaeda and took him to Guantanamo Bay, the notorious US prison camp. Mohamedou was held there for 14 years without charge, during which time he says he was tortured. A glimmer of light came in the form of an unexpected and life-changing friendship he would make with Steve Wood, one of his American guards. A new Hollywood movie about Mohamedou's story will be released early next year called The Mauritanian. This story was first released in August 2019.
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Presenter: Emily Webb
Producer: Mariana Des Forges
Image: (L-R) Mohamedou Salahi and Steve Wood
Credit: Mohamedou Salahi
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True stories of ordinary people and the extraordinary events that have shaped their lives