JEDDAH, 18 December 2006 — Interior Minister Prince Naif said yesterday that the government would deal with Saudi Gitmo returnees like other citizens, adding that it wanted to close their cases as quickly as possible.
“We have sympathized with them as they were in a foreign country and we have worked to bring them back to their country. We will deal with them like any other citizens as long as they cooperate with us,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted him as saying.
Prince Naif was speaking to reporters after presiding over a meeting of the board of directors of the Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT) in Riyadh. He said the Gitmo returnees would be handled in accordance with the Kingdom's law. “We hope that we would be able to find in them elements that would make them deserve forgiveness... We also hope that they would provide security agents with whatever information they have,” he added.
He underlined SCT's efforts in promoting domestic tourism. The SCT board meeting approved the organization's five-year executive plan that expects 20 percent increase in tourist inflow to the Kingdom. It also endorsed tourism development strategies for Al-Jouf and Najran and approved the list of the Kingdom's tourism sites to be developed.
