Safia Benaouda

Who is Safia Benaouda?

Safie Benaouda is a citizen of Sweden who had fallen under suspicion of an association with terrorism. Safie is the daughter of the head of Muslim Council of Sweden Helena Benaouda.

In an interview with Raymond Bonner of the International Herald Tribune Benaouda said she and her fiance fellow Swede Munir Awad had traveled to Dubai, on vacation, but were disappointed at how commercialized facilities for tourists were. So they traveled to Somalia to see a more traditional Muslim culture. They arrived in Somalia shortly before it was invaded by Kenya.

Benaouda described an American woman dying in her arms, and described caring for her three children until they were captured. She said the soldiers who captured her were led by three Americans. She said that her interrogations, in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia, were overseen by Americans.

According to the International Herald Tribune the American woman who died was the wife of Daniel Maldonado, an American suspected of undertaking military training at an Afghan training camp. According to the International Herald Tribune the American woman died of malaria.

On August 20, 2009 the pair and their young child were apprehended in Pakistan, together with fellow Swede Mehdi Ghezali, and nine other non-Pakistanis. Ghezali is reported to have told authorities that they were traveling to Lahore to participate in a Tablighi Jamaat conference. Mohammad Rizwan, the chief of police of Dera Ghazi Khan, who captured the individuals, has told the press that their luggage included a laptop computer, $10,000 USD and a suicide belt.