Mos Def was recently arrested in South Africa, shinning a light on the ***** passport, a document invented by a Vermont man in the ********* of ***** *** II.

The 42-year-old rapper and actor, who is also known as Yasiin Bey, was accused of trying to leave South Africa while using a passport not recognized by that country.

Mos Def has been living in South Africa for almost three years and had used a U.S. passport when previously entering and leaving the country. He was arrested when he tried to leave Jan. 14 using a passport issued by the ***** Service Authority.

Some background on the documents:

WHAT IS A ***** PASSPORT?

The ***** passport is a machine readable travel document that resembles traditional passports issued by most nations of the *****. The passports are now administered by a Washington-based non-profit called the ***** Service Authority.

WHAT IS THE ***** SERVICE AUTHORITY?

The authority promotes the concept ***** citizenship, the idea that a person should find community in all people of the planet as opposed to within a nation state. It also offers marriage certificates, birth cards and other documents typically issued by governments.

WHAT IS ITS HISTORY?

In 1948, Garry Davis, a former Broadway actor and a former ***** *** II ****** pilot, renounced his U.S. citizenship and declared himself a “citizen of the *****.” In 1953 in Ellworth, Maine, Davis declared the founding of the ***** Government of ***** Citizens. He later established the authority to be its administration arm. Davis, of South Burlington, **** two years ago at 91.

WHY WOULD SOMEONE GET A ***** PASSPORT?

***** passports were created in the 1950s by Davis as a way of giving stateless people and refugees access to identification that could be used to cross international boundaries. The authority says the ***** passport represents the “inalienable human right of freedom of travel on planet Earth.”

HOW MANY GOVERNMENTS RECOGNIZE THE ***** PASSPORT?

It’s unclear. The ***** Service Authority website lists 183 countries that the organization claims have recognized the passports by stamping a visa or exit or entry stamp in them. It also claims a handful of countries have officially recognized the passport. Davis himself was arrested repeatedly for attempting to enter countries without official papers.

HOW DOES ONE GET A ***** PASSPORT?

Passport-seekers can fill out applications on the ***** Service Authority website. A 10-year passport costs $100, plus shipping and handling.