31 Facts About Khalid El-Masri

Khalid El-Masri is believed to be among an estimated 3,000 detainees, including several key leaders of al Qaeda, whom the CIA captured from 2001 to 2005, in its campaign to dismantle terrorist networks.

Khalid El-Masri filed suit against the CIA for his arrest, extraordinary rendition and torture.

On 13 December 2012, Khalid El-Masri won an Article 34 case at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Khalid El-Masri immigrated to France in the 1980s during the Lebanese civil war, where he applied for political asylum, based on his membership in the Islamic Unification Movement which had fought against the Lebanese government during the war years.

In 1996, Khalid El-Masri married a Lebanese woman in Ulm, Germany.

Khalid El-Masri was detained by Macedonian border officials on 31 December 2003, because his name was identical to that of Khalid al-Masri, who was being sought as an alleged mentor to the al-Qaeda Hamburg cell, and because of suspicion that El-Masri's German passport was a forgery.

Khalid El-Masri was held in a motel in Macedonia for over three weeks and questioned about his activities, his associates, and the mosque he attended in Ulm.

Khalid El-Masri said that his custodians forcibly inserted an object into his anus.

Khalid El-Masri was kept in a bare, squalid cell, given only meager rations to eat and putrid water to drink.

Discussion over what to do with Khalid El-Masri included secretly transporting him back to Macedonia and dumping him there without informing German authorities, and denying any claims he made.

In March 2004, Khalid El-Masri took part in a hunger strike, demanding that his captors afford him due process or watch him die.

Khalid El-Masri continued his hunger strike for 10 more days until he was force-fed and given medical attention.

Khalid El-Masri had lost more than 60 pounds since his abduction in Skopje.

Shortly before Khalid El-Masri was released, in May 2004 the US ambassador to Germany informed the government for the first time of his detention.

Khalid El-Masri later said that, at the time he believed his release was a ruse, and he would be executed.

Khalid El-Masri was intercepted by Albanian guards, who believed him to be a terrorist due to his haggard and unkempt appearance.

In 2005, a German prosecutor started aiding Khalid El-Masri to validate his case.

On 17 May 2007, Khalid El-Masri was arrested on suspicion of arson.

Khalid El-Masri claimed the iPod malfunctioned just hours after purchase.

On 17 May 2007, Khalid El-Masri kicked in a door of the Metro store and used gasoline to start a fire.

Khalid El-Masri had actually requested extended therapy for his client shortly before the incident, as El-Masri stated he felt threatened, and believed himself to be pursued by cars and strangers.

Khalid El-Masri stated the act of arson was executed on impulse and could not have led to a larger fire.

Prosecutors in the arson case revealed that Khalid El-Masri faced charges for allegedly attacking a truck driving instructor.

On 11 September 2009, Khalid El-Masri was arrested after attacking Gerold Noerenberg, the mayor of Neu-Ulm.

Shortly before the attack Khalid El-Masri tried to meet Noerenberg, but was prevented from entering the office and sent off by the police.

Khalid El-Masri then took three of his six children with him, stormed the office and struck Noerenberg repeatedly in the face and threw a chair at him.

Khalid El-Masri was arrested two hours after the attack in Senden.

Khalid El-Masri confessed the attack, but kept silent about the motives at the time.

Khalid El-Masri was sentenced to two years' imprisonment on 30 March 2010.

Khalid El-Masri's lawyer, Manfred Gnjidic, explained that El-Masri believed he was pursued by the secret services, trying to break or recruit him, and he intended to file an appeal.

The Court stated that Khalid El-Masri's allegations were supported by previous investigations into flight logs, as well as forensic evidence about his physical condition.