Ridah Bin Saleh al Yazidi

Nationality: Tunisian

ISN: 38

Age: 53

A Tunisian prisoner remains at Guantanamo even though he was approved to be transferred eight years ago.

Ridah Bin Saleh al Yazidi is a prisoner at the Guantanamo U.S. military prison who fought in Afghanistan against U.S. and coalition forces, received combat training at a terrorist training camp, and helped forge documents for use in terrorist activities, according to a U.S. military document.

These and other allegations against Ridah can be found in his Detainee Assessment Brief (DAB), which was signed by Rear Admiral Mark H. Buzby in June 2007. This U.S. military document, created during the Bush administration, contains the most thorough account of the evidence against Ridah currently available to the public.

This article summaries the allegations against Ridah contained in his DAB. If the document is inaccurate or misleading, this summary will be as well.

Several foreign governments investigated Ridah’s activities before he travelled to Afghanistan.

The Tunisian government identified Ridah as an extremist who was involved in extremist activities for over a decade.

A Bosnian official identified Ridah as part of a group of Tunisians, most of whom had been to Bosnia, who forged passports for use by terrorists.

According to Italian military police, Ridah was among 13 individuals arrested on June 10, 1998 in an anti-terror operation in Bologna, Italy, and charged with criminal and terrorist activities — including distribution of counterfeit banknotes, preparation of false documents, and dealing in stolen automobiles.

As of December 2002, Italian military police indicated several Tunisians, including Ridah, had outstanding Italian arrest warrants for their ties to the Bologna terror cell.

The Tunisian government considered Ridah to be among the most dangerous operatives in the Tunisian Combat Group (TCG), an armed group allied with Al Qaeda.

The Tunisian government reported that in 1998, Ridah joined the founder and original leader of the Tunisian Combat Group in Afghanistan.

Ridah told American interrogators that he received training in the use of small arms, explosives, small artillery, walkie-talkies, and combat tactics at the Khaldan Training Camp from May 1999 to February 2000. Ridah said he subsequently travelled to Jalalabad, where he received 20 days of additional training in the use of explosives.

According to the Tunisian government, Ridah took part in military training while in Afghanistan with members of the “Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat,” which planned to use their training to target unspecified European and American interests. Ridah told U.S. interrogators that he initially believed he would use his Afghan training to fight in Chechnya.

Abdul Bin Mohammed Bin Abess Ourgy, a Guantanamo prisoner from Tunisia, informed Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Guantanamo prisoner from Mauritania, that Ridah became the leader of the Tunisian Al Qaeda faction in Afghanistan, and that Ridah was in charge of Tunisians who worked with Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan, according to Ridah’s DAB.

Ourgy said that Ridah’s position implied a high level of trust from Osama Bin Laden, and that Ridah must have shown leadership abilities to have been placed in such a position. Ridah’s DAB doesn’t say whether U.S. interrogators learned this information from Ourgy or Slahi.

After waiting to fight in Chechnya, Ridah said he decided to go to the front lines in Afghanistan in March 2001.

Abu Zubaydah said Ridah was in Kabul, Afghanistan, at a house used by Khaldan Camp trainees on Sept. 11, 2001.

On Sept. 11., 2001, nearly 3,000 people were killed when 19 Al Qaeda hijackers crashed two planes into the World Trade Center in New York City, crashed one plane into the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and crashed one plane into a Pennsylvania field, after passengers attempted to regain control of the aircraft.

In October 2001, a U.S. led coalition went to war with the Taliban government in Afghanistan for its support of Al Qaeda. The U.S. aligned with a group of Afghan militias known as the Northern Alliance that had been fighting the Taliban for several years.

Ridah joined fighters on the battle lines in Kabul, Afghanistan, to defend against the U.S. and Northern Alliance offensive, and his TCG associates engaged in combat operations against U.S. and coalition forces after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, according to Ridah’s DAB.

In November 2001, Ridah went to Khowst, Afghanistan, for about three weeks, where he learned that the fighting was going badly for the Taliban and that the military was collapsing. Considering this, he decided to cross the border into Pakistan.

Pakistani authorities captured a group of 30 fighters, including Ridah, after they crossed the border from the Tora Bora region. Other members of the group were later identified by senior Al Qaeda leaders as bodyguards of Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda members, or both.

Ridah was transferred to the custody of US forces on Dec. 27, 2001.

Ridah arrived at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Jan. 11, 2002, the day the first war-on-terror prisoners were sent to the U.S. naval base.

In February 2002, Ridah received a 20-year sentence, during a trial in Tunisia, when he was not present, for being involved in a terrorist organization abroad.

While in detention at Guantanamo, Ridah declared he was absolutely convinced of the correctness of the jihadist struggle and that he hoped to die as a martyr fighting against the Americans and crusaders. Ridah declared that he was proud of his acts and would continue to fight if he was given the opportunity, according to his DAB.

Ridah has been imprisoned by the U.S. at Guantanamo during the presidencies of George Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.

Ridah is the final Tunisian imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay. Twelve citizens of Tunisia have been detained at Guantanamo during the War on Terror, eleven of which have been transferred from U.S. custody.

Two Tunisians were transferred to Tunisia in June 2007, during the Bush administration.

The Obama administration’s interagency Guantanamo Task Force recommended in January 2010 that Ridah be transferred from U.S. custody to another country.

No Tunisians were transferred to Tunisia during the Obama administration; instead, they were transferred to other countries. It is unclear why the Obama administration decided against transferring any Tunisians back to their home country.

Two Tunisians were transferred to Italy in November 2009, one Tunisian was transferred to Slovakia in January 2010, one Tunisian was transferred to Albania in February 2010, and one Tunisian was transferred to the country of Georgia in March 2010.

In January 2011, a popular uprising toppled Tunisia’s government, and a more democratic system took its place.

During Obama’s second term, one Tunisian was transferred to Slovakia in November 2014, one Tunisian was transferred to Uruguay in December 2014, and two Tunisians were transferred to Kazakhstan in December 2014.

No Guantanamo prisoners have been released thus far under the Trump administration.

During his State of the Union address in January, President Trump criticized decisions by previous administrations to release alleged terrorists detained by the U.S.

“In the past, we have foolishly released hundreds and hundreds of dangerous terrorists, only to meet them again on the battlefield,” he said.

Ridah remains imprisoned at Guantanamo to this day. He has never been charged by the United States with a crime. He is being detained as an enemy fighter under the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, which authorized the U.S. war in Afghanistan. Ridah has been imprisoned at Guantanamo for 16 years.