16 More Gitmo Detainees Return Home

by Samir Al-Saadi

JEDDAH, 7 September 2007 — Sixteen Saudi Guantanamo detainees returned home yesterday after their release from the US-run detention center in Cuba.

This is the second group of detainees to return to the Kingdom in less than two months after a recent high-profile visit by an official Saudi Delegation to the camp to secure the release of Saudis imprisoned there. The visiting delegation urged Guantanamo officials to make arrangements for the speedy transfer of detainees, who would be tried under Saudi law.

In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) yesterday, Interior Minister Prince Naif said that the Kingdom, under the direction of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, is keen to see the return of all Saudi Guantanamo detainees.

Prince Naif said the men would be tried according to the Kingdom’s laws, and expressed satisfaction and appreciation at US cooperation.

The released Saudis were identified as Abdulhadi Abdullah Al-Sharikh, Abdullah Razaq Al-Sharikh, Fahd Atteh Al-Harazi, Abdulhakem Abdulkarem Bukhari, Rami Saad Al-Juaid, Khaled Hassan Al-Sharif, Majed Abdullah Barayan, Muhammad Mubarak Al-Karbi, Abdullah Thani Al-Unizi, Zibin Dhaher Al-Shamari, Abdulaziz Saad Al-Ushan, Mousa Ali Saed Al-Amri, Salem Abdullah Al-Shihri, Fahd Mohammed Al-Fouzan, Umran Baker Huwsawi and Bakri Awad Al-Sumari.

Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said the ministry arranged for the families of the detainees to meet with the prisoners in Riyadh.

This is the third group to arrive this year after US authorities released 16 detainees on July 16 and seven on Feb. 21. Yesterday’s release brings the number of released Saudi Guantanamo prisoners to 93. There are currently 37 Saudis remaining at the jail. The number does not include three detainees, who allegedly committed suicide at the detention camp.

The body of Abdul Rahman Al-Amri, 34, was sent to the Kingdom on June 1 after he allegedly committed suicide. According to US Navy sources, he was found dead in his cell. He was one of many detainees who went on a hunger strike in 2005. Al-Amri was buried in his hometown of Khamis Mushayt in mid-June.

The other two Saudi nationals, who reportedly committed suicide in Guantanamo, were Yasser Al-Zahrani, 21, and Manie Al-Otaibi, 26. US authorities say the two men hanged themselves with clothing and bed coverings in their cells on June 10, 2006. Their deaths are still under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Al-Turki said that 54 of the 77 released detainees have been tried and have undergone a rehabilitation program before rejoining their families.

The Interior Ministry rehabilitation program has proven successful so far. “The program is still in its primary stages and is undergoing continuous changes,” he said.

Hundreds of relatives of the new group of released detainees arrived at Riyadh’s Marriot Hotel yesterday to meet with their loved ones, who are being kept at Al-Hair Prison.

The relatives arrived in the capital early in the morning from different parts of the Kingdom. Visits are open for a week.

Relatives and friends of the released can contact the Interior Ministry on 01-403-4375.