RIYADH, 29 June 2006 — Manie Al-Otaibi, 26, one of the two Saudi detainees alleged to have committed suicide inside his cell in Guantanamo Bay, was laid to rest yesterday afternoon at the Al-Naseem cemetery in Riyadh.
Hundreds of mourners attended funeral prayers at the Al-Rajhi Mosque after Asr prayers after which his body was carried by worshippers into a vehicle that transported him to the cemetery.
Meanwhile, family members of the deceased Saudi citizens attended a meeting yesterday with the medical committee that carried out autopsies on the bodies in the Interior Ministry. Thafir Al-Shehri, an official from the ministry, also attended. According to Kateb Al-Shammari, a lawyer representing the two families, Dr. Saeed Al-Ghamdi, head of the medical committee, briefed families on the results of the autopsies.Al-Ghamdi said there were many procedures yet to be finalized in the Kingdom, not including those that have to be released from the US, to support their final report about the cause and circumstances surrounding the death.The physician said that the medical team had taken several samples from both bodies and added that it would take time for the results to come from the medical laboratory.
The two families agreed to receive the bodies after hearing the briefing yesterday.
The family members of Yasser Al-Zahrani requested that his body be transported to Madinah where it will be buried today.
Bodies of Manie Al-Otaibi and Yasser Al-Zahrani arrived in the capital on June 17 after US authorities reported that they were found dead in their cells on June 10. The body of Yemeni national Ali Ahmed, the third man found dead at Guantanamo, has been repatriated to Yemen.
The families of Al-Otaibi and Al-Zahrani have dismissed US claims that the youths committed suicide and claimed there were bruises on the bodies.
The families informed Saudi authorities of their desire for an autopsy to be carried out locally on both bodies to determine the cause of death.
The request was granted and a medical team was appointed by the Interior Ministry.
“The final medical report from the committee is the only true testimony as to the cause of death. We cannot allow speculations that they were beaten or tortured before the medical report is released,” said lawyer Al-Shammari.
The alleged suicides have been the first to be reported at the prison since it was constructed in 2002. US authorities said the two men hanged themselves with clothes and bedsheets in their prison cells.
So far 31 Saudi citizens have been repatriated from the US detention center — including the bodies of Al-Otaibi and Al-Zahrani. Ninety Saudis still remain imprisoned.
