Al Jazeera English - News - Ten Saudis Released From Guantanamo

UPDATED ON:
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2007
9:27 MECCA TIME, 6:27 GMT

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Ten Saudis released from Guantanamo

Those being held at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp are designated as enemy combatants [EPA]

The US has returned 10 Saudi detainees from the prison camp in Guantanamo Bay to their home country, US and Saudi Arabia authorities say.

The release brings the number of Saudis remaining in the prison to around 13, Reuters reported.

Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz, the Saudi interior minister, told the Saudi Arabia's official news agency that efforts were under way to bring home those Saudis still detained at Guantanamo.

About 60 more foreign prisoners are eligible for transfer from the facility, the US defence department said.

Discussions with various countries on repatriating the prisoners were ongoing, it said.

In September the US transferred 16 Saudis from Guantanamo back to their home kingdom.

About 136 of the 759 people detained at Guantanamo since 2002 have been Saudi, the second-largest group after Afghans. Most have since been repatriated.

Financial help

Those who were returned to Saudi Arabia have received financial help from the government to rebuild their lives and many have been allowed to go free.

Washington has designated Guantanamo prisoners, who were mainly seized in Afghanistan during the US-led invasion in 2001, as "enemy combatants".

The definition has resulted in the men being denied the "prisoner of war" status that would guarantee them certain rights under international law.

Source: Agencies

Related:
	Saudi Guantanamo prisoners released (07 Sep 2007)
	Saudi Guantanamo prisoners returned (16 Jul 2007)

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