JEDDAH, 26 June 2006 — Minister of Interior Prince Naif said terror cells would continue to exist unless international action was taken to dry up their sources. Referring to the success of security forces in recent operations that resulted in the killings of six suspected terrorists and the arrest of 43 others in the Kingdom, Prince Naif said those arrested or killed had helped terrorists in one way or another. He said that a clear press release in this regard had been issued by the Interior Ministry and any future inquiries would be answered fully by the concerned department.
The minister also said that the arrest of new suspects did not mean a new list of wanted terrorists would be announced. He said the new suspects were not on a new list but the fight against terrorism is continuous.
When the Kingdom announced on Saturday that one of the 43 men arrested was an Iraqi, questions were asked whether this meant Saudi links to Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Prince Naif said it was too early to draw any such conclusion but an investigation would be made.
He confirmed the arrival of the 14 detainees released from Guantanamo yesterday, saying that thirteen were Saudis and the other was a Turkestani.
Those released, according to the Interior Ministry, are Musa Abdul Wahab Abdul Kader Al-Hawsawi, Yousuf Khamees Abdullah Al-Sulaimani, Abdul Salam Ghethan Mureef Al-Shehri, Muhammad Suror Dakhelullah Al-Otaibi, Othman Ahmad Othman Al-Ghamdi, Saleh Ali Zaheed Al-Katha’ami, Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman Abdul Aziz Al-Baddah, Sadiq Ahmad Sadiq Nur Turkistani, Rasheed Abdul Musleh Gayed Al-Gayed, Tariq Shalah Hasan Al-Harbi, Abdullah Muhammad Saleh Al-Ghanmi, Ibraheem Muhammad Ibraheem Al-Nasr, Saad Ibraheem Saad Al-Badna and Wasm Awad Omar Al-Wasm. The ministry’s statement said that anyone related to those on the list should call the following telephone number: 01-4034375.
Regarding the international campaign to close the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay and whether Saudi Arabia supported this, Naif replied, “Of course.” He expressed the hope that all Saudis there would come back to the Kingdom.
When asked whether the detainees handed over to the Kingdom had been involved in any terrorist acts, the prince said the men were being investigated and “we promise to explain everything to the Saudi people.”
Naif made his remarks at a late night press conference following a meeting of the Higher Committee of Prince Naif’s Universal Prizes for the Prophet’s Tradition and Islamic Contemporary Studies, which approved the winners for this year. The winners are Dr. Bassem Faisal Al-Jawabrah for the topic “Takfir in Light of Sunnah,” Dr. Nawal Abdul Aziz Al-Eid for “Women’s Rights in Sunnah” and Dr. Mohammad Waqeehullah Ahmad for “Islam in the Western Curriculum.” The Prince Naif Prize for “Jihad in the Name of Allah” was withheld as Higher Committee officials said the research submitted fell short of the desired standards.
Dr. Misfer Al-Bisher, executive manager of the Prince Naif Prize, said that 83 papers on jihad from all over the world were submitted but only 15 made it to the final judging committee.
The release of the 14 Saudis from the US military detention camp at Guatanamo Bay, Cuba on Saturday was the result of worldwide pressure and condemnation of the Bush Administration, said Nihad Awad, director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
“I’m happy that these 14 were released and I hope that they will soon enjoy their lives with their families,” he said in a phone interview with Arab News. Awad also said that those left behind in Guantanamo should not be forgotten.
According to ABC News, there are still 450 prisoners in the camp. Awad pointed out that the Guantanamo facility runs counter to America’s history of just and democratic institutions and that he hoped the Bush Administration would close it.
— With input from Rasheed Abou-Alsamh
