Guantánamo, 10 years on and counting

Wednesday, January 11th 2012 it has been 10 years since the first prisoners were sent to Guantánamo, making it the longest-standing war prison in U.S. history. Almost 800 men have passed through Guantánamo’s cells. Among them is Lakhdar Boumediene, an Algerian citizen who is now 45.

In 2001, Boumediene was falsely accused of being an al Qaeda operative while working for a humanitarian aid organization in Bosnia. Even though Bosnia's highest court found no evidence against him, the U.S. government kidnapped Mr. Boumediene and sent him to Guantánamo, where he remained for 7 ½ years without charge or trial.

In 2009, the United States District Court in Washington heard the supposed evidence against Mr. Boumediene, found it utterly lacking and ordered him set free. That year, Mr. Boumediene was released from Guantánamo and today, he lives in Nice, France with his wife and three children.

In this interviewed by ACLU National Security Project Senior Staff Attorney Zachary Katznelson, Lakhdar Boumediene reflects on the years in Guantanamo, a bitter memory for him. I edited this podcast for the ACLU. It is 8:15 long.