JEDDAH, 25 March 2004 — Some of the 120 Saudis held in Guantanamo by the US will be released at the conclusion of the present Saudi-US talks, American Ambassador James C. Oberwetter has said.
“After interrogation of the detainees, the US has obtained the information it wants and has begun releasing large numbers of them. The Saudis will be released shortly after the end of negotiations,” the ambassador told a group of Saudi journalists.
Oberwetter did not specify when the Saudis would be freed. “We cannot give an approximate date,” he said.
The US ambassador promised to meet the families of some of the Saudi detainees. The families recently met with David Ottaway, an investigative reporter from The Washington Post, and called on the US administration to release their relatives after a civilian trial and hand them over to the Kingdom.
The meeting with Ottaway was arranged by a team of Saudi lawyers trying to win the release of the prisoners.
Ahmad Mazhar, head of the team, urged the US authorities to allow the Saudi prisoners to talk to their families in the Kingdom, if only for a short time, in order to reassure them.
Oberwetter denied a press report concerning the release of four Saudi prisoners from Guantanamo.
Dr. Saud ibn Saleh Al-Musaibeeh, public relations officer at the Interior Ministry, had earlier denied the report in Al-Hayat newspaper. Al-Musaibeeh said the government was exerting strenuous efforts to win the release of the prisoners and ensure their return to the Kingdom.
Oberwetter praised Saudi Arabia for its efforts to fight terrorism and track down terror suspects. However, he pointed out that more must be done in the battle to stamp out terrorism.
“My mission is to bring Saudi-American relations back to normal,” Al-Jazirah Arabic daily quoted the ambassador as saying. Oberwetter, a Texas oil industry lobbyist with close ties to US President George W. Bush’s family, assumed ambassadorial duties last month, replacing Robert Jordan.
Referring to the anti-Saudi smear campaign in the US media, the ambassador said many writers were ignorant of the changes and reforms taking place in the Kingdom. “I will cooperate with all American agencies to present the facts and provide correct information,” he said and emphasized the strong cooperation between the two countries in the fight against terror.
