Rendition Circuit: 19-20 January 2002
Rendition of six Bosnian Algerians, Bosnia to Guantnamo Bay (via Turkey)
On 18 January 2002, six Bosnian Algerian men - Mustafa Ait Idir, Hadz Boudella, Lakhdar Boumediene, Saber Lahmar, Mohammed Nechle and Bensayah Belkacem - were transferred from Bosnian authorities to US forces operating at the NATO base at Butmir. From there, they were taken 80 miles or so to the NATO/SFRO base in Tuzla, from where they were flown on a US military cargo plane to Turkey. Once in Turkey (likely the US-run Incirlick Airbase), the men were transferred to a second aircraft - alongside numberous detainees from Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan - and flown to Guantanamo Bay. This case stands out as one of the only known renditions not connected to the war zone in Afghanistan which was carried out by US military aircraft rather than private jets either owned or contracted by the CIA.
