RIYADH, 17 July 2007 — Saudi Arabia announced yesterday that US authorities have released 16 Saudi detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba. The Interior Ministry said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency that the detainees arrived in Riyadh yesterday morning. The new group of detainees is the second to be received by the Kingdom this year after US authorities released seven detainees on Feb. 21.

The ministry gave the names of the released detainees as: Fahad Al-Qahtani, Saud Al-Jihani, Muhammad Al-Jihani, Yahya Al-Silami, Bijad Al-Otaibi, Mazin Al-Oufi, Abdul Rahman Al-Juad, Bandar Al-Jabri, Saad Al-Zahrani, Muhammad Al-Qurashi, Humoud Al-Jadani, Khaled Al-Zahrani, Jumah Al-Dosari, Bandar Al-Otaibi, Abdullah Al-Zahrani and Ghanim Al-Harbi.

Interior Minister Prince Naif said that he welcomed the release of the Saudi detainees. He told SPA that the release was due to efforts following directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. He added that the men would be tried according to the laws of the Kingdom and expressed satisfaction at the cooperation of US authorities.

According to Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, this is the eighth group of detainees to be freed. Al-Turki said that the ministry had arranged for the families of detainees to meet the freed prisoners in Riyadh and said that relatives and friends of the released can contact the Interior Ministry on 01 4034375.

Al-Turki lauded the results of a recent visit by Saudi officials to Guantanamo Bay to check on the condition of Saudi detainees held there. He noted that during the visit, Saudi officials explained to American authorities the programs that the Kingdom has to help integrate released prisoners back into society.

“The Kingdom has been able to retrieve 77 of its citizens held at Guantanamo Bay and is doing everything it can to ensure the release of the remaining 53,” he said.

The number does not include three other Saudi detainees, who apparently committed suicide at the detention camp. The body of Abdul Rahman Al-Amri, 34, was sent to the Kingdom on June 1 by US authorities in Guantanamo Bay after he allegedly committed suicide. According to US Naval sources, he was found dead in his cell. He was one of the detainees who went on hunger strike in 2005. Al-Amri was buried by family members in his hometown of Khamis Mushayt in mid-June.

The other two Saudi nationals, who apparently committed suicide in the prison, were Yasser Al-Zahrani, 21, and Manie Al-Otaibi, 26. They allegedly hanged themselves with clothing and bed coverings in their cells on June 10, 2006. Their deaths are still under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Over 200 relatives of the new group of released detainees arrived at Riyadh’s Marriot Hotel yesterday to meet their loved ones at Al-Hair Prison. The relatives had arrived in the capital early in the morning from different parts of the Kingdom. The atmosphere in the hotel was full of excitement. The relatives boarded 11 buses provided to them by the Interior Ministry to take them to Al-Hair Prison.

Muhammad Al-Qahtani, brother of Fahad Al-Qahtani, said that he had not seen his brother for seven years now. “Fahad told us that he was going to perform Umrah in Makkah. We were surprised to learn afterward that he had left for Afghanistan,” he said.