Adel Hakeemy

Adel Hakeemy has been held in Guantánamo Bay since 2002. He was captured by Pakistanis and handed over to the US military after the invasion of Afghanistan, where he was living with his wife.  He has a daughter, Hind, whom he has never seen because he was in Guantánamo when she was born.

Adel was born in 1969 in Ben Arous in Tunisia to Ahmed Ben Brahim Hkimi, a veteran of the Tunisian military, and Jamila Bent Mabrouk Aouadi. He has four brothers and five sisters. 

Tunisia's high rates of unemployment spurred Adel to migrate to Italy in 1985. From 1989 to 1997, he worked on a permesso di soggiorno - Italy's work permit - as a chef in various well-respected restaurants. His criminal record in Italy was entirely clear. He speaks fondly of Italians, and would welcome the chance to resume his life there.

In the late nineties, Adel decided to travel from Italy to Pakistan, hoping to get closer to his Muslim roots and find a wife who shared his faith. Once there, he married the daughter of a man named Amor Sliti. As a condition of the marriage, Adel's in-laws asked that he move with them to Jalalabad, Afghanistan, to keep Adel's new wife close to the family. So Adel began life with his new family in Afghanistan. There was talk of opening a European-style snack stand in Kabul; Adel, with his prior culinary experience, was to be the chef.

The business plans were interrupted, however, by September 11th and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan. Adel fled the war zone, but was kidnapped by the Pakistanis and handed over to the Americans. He was taken to Kandahar, where he was grievously abused, and then to Cuba. He has remained there for nearly eight years.

Adel has been unable to return to Tunisia, which under the old regime was virtually certain to torture him, as they did another Guantanamo prisoner who was sent to Tunisia in 2007. Now however, given Tunisia's transition to democracy, there is no reason why he should not return home.

Adel has repeatedly asked for a fair chance to mount a defense in a court of law. Since arriving in Guantanamo he is yet to receive one.