Benamar Benatta

Benamar "Ben" Benatta ( b. 1974 /75) is an Algerian refugee.

One day after the attacks of 11 September 2001 on 12 September 2001, he traveled in the United States and was arrested as a terrorist suspect. According to the Los Angeles Times he was held for 1780 days. Benatta has been held longer than any other suspects in the United States without any evidence.

Benatta was a lieutenant in the Algerian Air Force, who was sent for training in the United States.

Benatta went over the Canadian border on 5 September 2001 and was since then as a refugee. The Canadian immigration authorities handed him over to the U.S. authorities on September 12.

The Los Angeles Times reported that in November 2001, U.S. security authorities have confirmed that Benatta have no links to terrorism.

On 20 July 2006, the U.S. authorities handed him back the Canadian immigration authorities.

"I said to myself again and again, maybe that was what happened ... a kind of dream. I never believed that such a thing can happen in the United States. "