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Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi

1978 – 2009

Guantanamo detainee

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About Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi

Lived 1978 – 2009 (aged 31). Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi was a Yemeni.

Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi was a long term hunger striker, who was fed through a nasal tube, after being immobilized in a restraint chair until shortly before his death.

Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi (February 1978 - June 1, 2009) was a citizen of Yemen, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. Al Hanashi's Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 78. The Department of Defense reports that Al Hanashi was born in February 1978, in Abyan, Yemen.

On June 2, 2009, the Department of Defense reported that a 31-year-old Yemeni captive named "Muhammed Ahmad Abdallah Salih" committed suicide late on June 1, 2009. Camp officials did not allow journalists who were at the camp for Omar Khadr's Guantanamo military commission to report news of his death until they left Guantanamo.

June 2009 death David Remes reports that Mohammad Ahmed was being held in the same psychiatric ward as his client Adnan Latif.

Ahmed was reported to have been found "unresponsive" in his cell late on the night of June 1, 2009. According to David McFadden, reporting for the Associated Press wrote:

DeWalt declined to confirm or refute whether Mohammad Ahmed had been in Guantanamo's Psychiatric unit, and said he didn't know whether he had made previous suicide attempts. According to the Associated Press Jose Ruiz, a Guantanamo spokesman, said that the Navy will not make the results of his autopsy public until the Navy Criminal Investigative Service completes its investigation.

On June 11, 2009, Andrew O. Selsky, of the Associated Press, published an article based on interviews with former captives who knew Saleh. Recently released Binyam Mohammed asserted that suicide was totally out of character for Saleh: "He was patient and encouraged others to be the same. He never viewed suicide as a means to end his despair."

Mohammed said that Saleh had been chosen as a prisoner's representative. The Associated Press quoted fellow captives Yasin Qasem Muhammad Ismail and Adnan Latif, who said Al Hanashi's weight had dropped to under 45 kilograms prior to his death, and that he could only get around on crutches.

NCIS Investigation Report released in 2016

According to documents released via Freedom of Information Act in 2016, Al Hanashi died by tearing off a piece of elastic underwear and strangling himself to death. Attempts by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service to understand the timeline of events leading up to the death were complicated by the fact that someone at Guantanamo told staff in the Behavioral Health Unit where Al Hanashi was found to turn off all computer logging of events that were then occurring. NCIS was never able to determine who had ordered the database logs shut down. Al Hanashi had made multiple suicide attempts in the month or so prior to his death, and even been put on suicide watch at least once. The description of his underwear type did not comport with other reported rules about the kinds of clothing allowed for Guantanamo inmates. At least one camp staff member interviewed by NCIS said they were surprised when they saw the deceased Al Hanashi wearing clothing that had not been approved. According to the FOIA documents, Al Hanashi was considered a leader among the other detainees, and the day he died had complained to the Chief of the Behavioral Health Unit about proposed changes in the rules governing punishment in that unit. He also complained about being tortured on the day he died, and wrote in a final note that he was very upset when his report was ignored, and said he didn't want to live anymore.

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Important facts

People in Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

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Frequently asked questions

Who was Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi?

Guantanamo detainee (1978–2009)

When was Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi born?

Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi was born on 1 February 1978 in Yemen.

When did Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi die?

Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi died on 1 June 2009 in Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

What nationality was Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi?

Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi was Yemeni.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi

· Wikidata: Q3318989

· DBpedia: Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi. https://biography.guide/mohammad-ahmed-abdullah-saleh-al-hanashi/

MLA: "Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/mohammad-ahmed-abdullah-saleh-al-hanashi/.

Chicago: "Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/mohammad-ahmed-abdullah-saleh-al-hanashi/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-28 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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