JEDDAH, 27 December 2006 — The Interior Ministry announced yesterday that 18 former Guantanamo detainees that returned from the US prison camp in Cuba earlier this year have been released from custody. The announcement comes a week after 11 other former detainees were released.
Twenty-eight of these former prisoners of the so-called US “War on Terror” are Saudi nationals while one is a Saudi-born resident whose parents also live in the Kingdom.
The Interior Ministry said that the 11 men released last week had completed prison sentences for various charges related to their detention in Guantanamo, while the charges against the 18 released yesterday were dismissed. To date, 51 Saudis have been released from Guantanamo while 74 still remain at the prison.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement that the cooperation of the freed Saudis is vital to ensure the return of the other men still languishing in Guantanamo.
Many of the men held at Guantanamo Bay were captured in Afghanistan in the US-led war to oust the Taleban government. None of the men that ended up in Cuba have been charged with any crimes, and many of them have been denied access to legal help.
