Ahmed Errachidi

This book was written by one of the Muslim men detained at Guantanamo by the American govt (initially under George Bush.) In light of the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent media leaks about the things that were happening at Guantanamo I can easily believe this account. Errachidi gives an honest account of his treatment whilst in the prison. It is shocking and confirms all of the abuse and more....

I am not convinced by the author's reasons for ending up in Guantanamo in the first place and I note that he admits to having been working illegally in Britain at various points prior to his detention. He states that he originally travelled to Pakistan in order to 'help' civilians that were being effected by the war effort, this despite having a young son desperately ill. He was captured and sold to the Americans and only released after five years of incarceration. It appears he was scheduled for release for several years but was not actually released as Britain wouldn't take him and they feared he would be tortured if returned to Morocco, ironically he was already being tortured in Guantanamo.

I'm sure his strange story about his reasons for going to Pakistan and his illegal visits to Britain are probably what prevented his case being progressed. I don't know the truth of these things, only the author does. But his account rings true in all other respects and the abuse he and the other prisoners seemingly suffered was appalling.

I found a lot of this book repetitive and in far too much detail for the events in question. I can't believe the author could remember so many small details about his detention. It's almost incredible as he documents various days and times etc...but again it seems authentic. He seems to have become a leader within the prison hence the "General" title and was responsible for a lot of the friction between the prisoners and the establishment including numerous hunger strikes. If these were convicted prisoners then I would have less sympathy for this type of rebellion and would probably hold the view that they brought this on themselves. BUT these were not convicts, most of them hadn't even been charged, a lot of them were never charged and some were completely innocent and just in the wrong place at the wrong time....so I can understand their frustration and their behaviour in these circumstances.

There is some swearing in this book but not a lot. There are also limited sexual references. The torture is described and may upset some readers. I don't really recommend this book for Christians as there is nothing especially edifying in it and it is not light reading!… (plus d'informations)