Overview

Moussa Zemmouri is a Belgian ex-Guantanamo detainee who was rearrested on terrorism charges in July 2015 alongside another ex-detainee, Soufian Abar Huwari. He was sentenced to 3.5 years of probation for his conspiracy in Huwari’s terrorism financing plot. Zemmouri is also the author of Onschuldig in Guantanamo (“Innocent in Guantanamo”), a book published in October 2010 in Dutch by Belgian publishing company Borgerhoff & Lamberigts.“Onschuldig in Guantanamo,” Borgerhoff & Lamberigts, accessed March 8, 2016, http://www.borgerhoff-lamberigts.be/boeken/p/detail/onschuldig-in-guantanamo. He has sued the Belgian government in an effort to secure over $50,000 in damages for his time spent in Guantanamo.“Slachtoffer of jihadist? De omstreden schadeclaim van Moussa Zemmouri tegen de Belgische Staat,” Humo.be, January 16, 2017, http://www.humo.be/humo-archief/373513/slachtoffer-of-jihadist-de-omstreden-schadeclaim-van-moussa-zemmouri-tegen-de-belgische-staat.

Zemmouri was first captured in late 2001 in Afghanistan.Agence France-Presse, “Two former Guantánamo inmates arrested in Belgium on terror charges,” Guardian (London), http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/24/former-guantanamo-inmates-arrested-belgium;
“Case File: Mosa Zemmouri,” CAGE, accessed February 5, 2016, http://www.cageuk.org/case/mosa-zemmouri. Zemmouri was determined to have acted as trained combatant for al-Qaeda, and was also a high-ranking member of the theological branch of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM).Agence France-Presse, “Two former Guantánamo inmates arrested in Belgium on terror charges,” Guardian (London), http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/24/former-guantanamo-inmates-arrested-belgium. Zemmouri is believed to have visited several al-Qaeda sponsored training camps, including Derunta (which he allegedly attended in 2000 or 2001) and Khalden.“The Guantanamo Docket: Mosa Zi Zemmori: JTF-GTMO Assessment,” New York Times, accessed March 4, 2016, http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo/detainees/270-mosa-zi-zemmori/documents/11.

Zemmouri was transferred to Guantanamo in February 2002.“The Guantanamo Docket: Mosa Zi Zemmori: JTF-GTMO Assessment,” New York Times, accessed March 4, 2016, http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo/detainees/270-mosa-zi-zemmori/documents/11. In November 2003, a U.S. Department of Justice’s Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF) assessment by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF) determined that Zemmouri posed a high risk threat to the United States, its interests or allies.“The Guantanamo Docket: Mosa Zi Zemmori: JTF-GTMO Assessment,” New York Times, accessed March 4, 2016, http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo/detainees/270-mosa-zi-zemmori/documents/11. Zemmouri subsequently spent three years in detention at Guantanamo, and was transferred to Belgium in April 2005.Robin Emmott, “Belgium arrests two ex-Guantanamo inmates on terrorism charges,” Reuters, July 24, 2015, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-belgium-arrest-guantanamo-idUSKCN0PY27H20150724;
“Case File: Mosa Zemmouri,” CAGE, accessed February 5, 2016, http://www.cageuk.org/case/mosa-zemmouri.

Zemmouri went on to work alongside CAGE (then known as CagePrisoners) in several of the U.K.-based organization’s events.“Cageprisoners: Beyond Guantanamo Event - Moussa Zemmouri,” YouTube video, posted by “Cageprisoners.com,” September 24, 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyVylXXOl4s;
“The Four Imams: in the Face of Oppression,” CagePrisoners, accessed March 8, 2016, http://www.cageprisoners.com/learn-more/for-the-victims/item/download/120. In 2009, a Belgian court dismissed terrorism charges against Zemmouri. The year after, Zemmouri went on to file a lawsuit against the Belgian government and publish his book, Onschuldig in Guantanamo.Agence France-Presse, “Two former Guantánamo inmates arrested in Belgium on terror charges,” Guardian (London), http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/24/former-guantanamo-inmates-arrested-belgium;
“Onschuldig in Guantanamo,” Borgerhoff & Lamberigts, accessed March 8, 2016, http://www.borgerhoff-lamberigts.be/boeken/p/detail/onschuldig-in-guantanamo.

In July 2015, Zemmouri was arrested as part of a raid on a jihadist recruiting and financing ring in Antwerp, Belgium. Zemmouri and others, including fellow Guantanamo detainee Soufian Abar Huwari, were accused of terrorism-related offenses, including recruiting and funneling individuals to fight in Syria, as well as attempted burglary.Robin Emmott, “Belgium arrests two ex-Guantanamo inmates on terrorism charges,” Reuters, July 24, 2015, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-belgium-arrest-guantanamo-idUSKCN0PY27H20150724. Huwari, who led the ring, was sentenced to 12 years in prison while Zemmouri, who participated, was sentenced to 3.5 years’ probation.“Slachtoffer of jihadist? De omstreden schadeclaim van Moussa Zemmouri tegen de Belgische Staat,” Humo.be, January 16, 2017, http://www.humo.be/humo-archief/373513/slachtoffer-of-jihadist-de-omstreden-schadeclaim-van-moussa-zemmouri-tegen-de-belgische-staat.

On January 29, 2021, Zemmouri, along with other former Guantanamo detainees, wrote an open letter to U.S. President Joe Biden urging him to close the prison facility.Mansoor Adayfi, Moazzam Begg, Lakhdar Boumediane, Sami Al Hajj, Ahmed Errachidi, et al., “An Open Letter to President Biden about Guantánamo,” January 29, 2021, https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2021/01/29/an-open-letter-to-president-biden-about-guantanamo/.