SEATTLE, 22 May 2004 — An Oregon lawyer arrested in connection with the March train bombings in Madrid, Spain, was released Thursday after Spanish police identified fingerprints found on a bag of detonators as belonging to an Algerian.

Police in Spain had expressed doubts early on about US investigators’ claims that one of the fingerprints on the bag belonged to Brandon Mayfield, a Muslim convert living in Portland.

Neither US nor Spanish authorities would say whether Mayfield was in the clear. An FBI official in Portland called the investigation “ongoing.”

“I want to thank my friends and family for what I’ll call a harrowing ordeal,” Mayfield said outside the federal courthouse in downtown Portland, minutes after his release.

The longtime Oregon resident and former Army officer had been detained for two weeks under a material witness warrant in connection with the March 11 bombings that killed 191 people and injured 2,000.

He has not been charged with a crime.

“After facing the weight of the government, things will never be quite the same for any of us, my wife, my children or myself,” said Mayfield, 37.

Holding a Qur’an in one hand, Mayfield recited a Muslim prayer, first in Arabic and then in English: “God is great. There is no God but God.”

His wife Mona, brother, three children and attorneys stood next to him.

Mayfield and attorney Steven Wax, a public defender, said a gag order issued by a federal judge precluded Mayfield from talking about the case.

Reached by phone at home in Aloha, a Portland suburb, Mona Mayfield, an Egyptian-born immigrant, said she was “in shock that my prayers were answered so quickly.” In the background were shrieks of joy from their three children, ages 10, 12 and 15.

“It’s totally amazing,” said Mona, 36. “The kids are so very happy. Brandon is quiet like he usually is. That’s just him. I’m in shock. I need time to be with my husband. I need time to absorb what has just happened.”

Brandon Mayfield was arrested at his Portland law office on May 6 after federal investigators said they matched a fingerprint on a blue plastic bag containing detonators. The Mayfield home was searched the same day. Family members insisted that Mayfield’s arrest was a mistake.