dpa | A man whose fall from Hollywood under the title “The Mauritanian” was made into a film, is allowed to enter Germany again. This was decided by the Higher Administrative Court for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Mohamedou Ould Slahi was imprisoned in the US prison camp at Guantanamo for 14 years. The city of Duisburg had imposed a 20-year entry ban against the current Dutchman. Wrongly, as the 18th Senate of the OVG decided.
The judges in Münster thus confirmed a decision from the lower court, but with different reasons. The The Düsseldorf Administrative Court had already ruled in 2023that an entry and residence ban imposed in 2000 due to social fraud must be lifted. It is not permissible to subsequently justify the ban with the threat of terrorism.
According to the conviction of the OVG Because you have acquired Dutch citizenship in the meantime, the entry and residence ban imposed in 2000 is no longer valid. The verdict is not yet final. Because of its fundamental importance, the OVG allowed an appeal to the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig.
The reason given by the OVG was: At the latest since the plaintiff became a Dutch citizen and therefore an EU citizen during the appeal process, the entry and residence ban based on social benefit fraud had expired.
Wrongfully imprisoned in Guantánamo for 14 years
According to the OVG, the question of whether the plaintiff currently poses a terrorist threat to the Federal Republic, as cited by the city of Duisburg, was not addressed in the appeal proceedings. The court also left it open whether a future determination of the loss of EU freedom of movement and a new entry and residence ban could be based on such a risk.
The current Dutchman originally had to leave Germany in 2000 because he had been legally convicted of social fraud. He previously studied electrical engineering in Germany until 1995. He was then deported from his homeland of Mauritania to Jordan in 2002 and later to Afghanistan.
Shortly afterwards he ended up in Guantánamo and was imprisoned from 2002 to 2016. He was in the camp According to his own statement, he was severely abused and tortured. The USA wanted to get information about terrorist groups from him after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
The case of Mohamedou Ould Slahi made headlines around the world. Hollywood made a film his work “The Guantanamo Diary” under the title “The Mauritanian”. The film was shown in cinemas in 2021 with Jodie Foster as a human rights lawyer and Benedict Cumberbatch as an investigator and was also shown on German television.
According to the lawyer, his client now works as a writer and author. He frequently travels to numerous European countries for his projects. Also to accept prizes there or to attend premieres of his plays.
He has a family connection to the Rhineland. For this reason, his lawyer told the German Press Agency before the hearing in Münster, his client wanted to be allowed to enter Germany again. The OVG did not order his appearance at the hearing in Münster.