JEDDAH, 30 May 2006 — The Interior Ministry announced yesterday that it has released on bail three Saudi Gitmo returnees who arrived in the Kingdom on July 20, 2005 after the court sentenced them to different jail terms.
“The three were transferred to court after they acknowledged that they were present in troubled areas without the permission of their parents or rulers. They had also forged documents and exposed the lives of their family members to danger,” a ministry official said.
The court sentenced two of them to one-year jail term while it decided that the period spent by the third in detention was adequate, the official said.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Prince Naif said yesterday Saudi Arabia would continue its efforts to repatriate the remaining Saudi detainees in the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan are keen on this issue and we are making intensive efforts with all agencies to ensure their quick return,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the interior minister as saying.
Prince Naif was speaking to reporters in Riyadh after attending a graduation ceremony at the Public Security Training Center. He refused to disclose preliminary results of the investigation of the 15 Gitmo detainees who arrived in Riyadh on May 19, saying, “It is a premature question as we need more time to retrieve important information they have.”
Answering another question, Prince Naif emphasized the significant role of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. He said press reports about curbing the organization’s powers was a misinterpretation. “They will continue to carry out their duty and the state will provide them with all support,” he said.
The minister said the recent decision that brought cases such as harassment of women under the Commission for Investigation and General Prosecution was a procedural measure in line with the requirements of the penal code. In accordance with that decision the role of the virtue commission will be restricted to arresting suspects and handing them over to police.
He said the measure was taken to reduce the burden on the commission officials.
“The investigation commission’s officials have gained a high degree of expertise in carrying out investigation as they are also well-versed in Shariah laws. They are equal to their brethren in the virtue commission,” he explained.
Naif denounced the smear campaigns against the Saudi government and said: “Saudi Arabia has been implementing Shariah and its constitution is based on the Qur’an and Sunnah.”
