Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Following King Salman’s Approval, Saudi Arabia Receives 9 Yemeni Guantanamo Prisoners | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Medical team performs primary tests on one of the Yemenis who returned to Saudi Arabia, Basheer Saleh


Riyadh- Nadr al-Sa’eeri, one of the Yemeni captives released yesterday from Guantanamo Bay prison, fell straight to his feet, overwhelmed, after seeing his mother waiting for him at the airport in Saudi Arabia after 15 years of separation and confinement.

Another released Yemeni captive Ali al-Rimi told Asharq Al-Awsat that he couldn’t believe that he has finally arrived to Saudi Arabia, saying that when he received news from Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper which was being distributed inside jail on the Decisive Storm being launched to save his country , joy had filled the hearts of all detained Yemenis in the jail.

He repeatedly expressed the overcoming happiness of Yemenis when they heard of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz leading the Decisive Storm to save Yemen.

On the other hand, the Saudi Ministry of Interior confirmed that all the Yemeni arrivals from Guantanamo, which are nine in total, will be subject to all concerned Saudi organizations and that they already have been provided with facilitations for meeting their families at the Riyadh airport.

Bandar al-Qataa’, one of the captives’ brother, clarified that his brother had left Yemen for Saudi Arabia then to Pakistan for the purposes of continuing his medicine studies until he got arrested after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Al-Qataa’ mentioned that his family was able to connect with his arrested brother during the first years through handwritten letters they would receive once every five months. A while later, visual and audio contact was made possible, after being arranged by the Saudi Red Crescent Authority, Saudi Arabia saved no effort in trying to connect the prisoners to their families.

Al-Qataa’ was dumbfounded over the years by the reaction given by the ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh, when he was still in office, on receiving the Yemeni captives and confirmed that all Saleh did was disappoint the people of his country.

Al- Qataa’ mentioned that Saleh requested U.S. authorities give his administration a million dollars in exchange for receiving each Yemeni captive.