RIYADH, 11 November 2007 — Fourteen Saudi detainees from Guantanamo arrived in the Kingdom yesterday after their release from the US detention center, the Interior Ministry announced. This is the fourth group to return home this year.
Yesterday’s release brings the number of freed Saudi Guantanamo detainees to 107. Twenty-three Saudis remain in detention at the Cuban center. These numbers do not include three detainees who allegedly committed suicide in the camp.
The 14 released Saudis have been identified as Fahad Al-Shareef, Yousuf Al-Shehri, Fahad Al-Otaibi, Turki Asiri, Sultan Ouwaida, Naif Al-Nukhailan, Abdullah Al-Harbi, Muhammad Al-Harbi, Saeed Al-Shehri, Hani Al-Ghamdi, Khaled Al-Bawardi, Murtada Muqrim, Jaber Al-Qahtani and Zaid Al-Ghamdi.
Over 100 relatives of the detainees arrived yesterday at the Riyadh Palace Hotel upon receiving word from the Interior Ministry that their family members would soon arrive. The reception area of the hotel was filled with relatives, including small children. None of the families had seen their relatives for several years, in some cases for over five years.
Rasheed Muqrim, brother of detainee Murtada Muqrim, said that members of his family considered the occasion as an “Eid” since they would soon see their loved one who had been away from them for seven years.
Murtada’s daughter, Shahd, has no memory of her father who left shortly after her birth. According to Rasheed, Murtada decided to forsake his previous lifestyle and become a devout Muslim four months before leaving the Kingdom. Just before 9/11, Murtada told his family he was going abroad to attend a seminar and would be back in a few days.
He did indeed leave the Kingdom but failed to return. “We received an anonymous call informing us that Murtada had been captured in Afghanistan by US soldiers. A few months later, the Interior Ministry confirmed that he was in Cuba as a detainee,” his brother said.
Seven years have passed since then and the family’s only communication has been in letters sent through the Saudi Red Crescent via the Interior Ministry. Letters arrived once every 6 or 7 months and though the communications were censored by US authorities — black ink was used to cross out some lines — the family drew comfort from the fact that Murtada seemed to be in good health.
Rasheed said the whole family would be happy to see Murtada but that, no one had yet told him of the death of their father last year. He said he supported the Interior Ministry’s program to assist detainees in rehabilitating themselves in Saudi society.
The father of detainee Jaber Al-Qahtani said he had received a call from an official in the Interior Ministry that his son would soon arrive from the US detention center.
“We are thankful to the Interior Ministry for all their efforts to bring the detainees home. And above all, we are thankful to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Interior Minister Prince Naif,” said Hassan Al-Qahtani.
