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Saudi Arabia in Talks to Secure Return of Final 10 Guantanamo Detainees | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Dammam, Asharq Al-Al-Awsat- Official spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry, General Mansour al-Turki has revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Saudi Arabia is conducting talks with the US in order to secure the return of 10 Saudi citizens who are still detained in Guantanamo Bay. General al-Turki did not reveal a date for the detainees return, but said that efforts are ongoing to secure their release as soon as possible.

On Friday, Saudi authorities also announced the restoration of 3 Saudi citizens who had been detained in Guantanamo Bay, the three detainees have been identified as; Ahmed Zaid Salem Zuhair, Khaled Saad Muhammad, and Abdulaziz Kareem Salem Al-Noofayee.

Saudi Arabia is in talks with the US attempting to secure the release of the last 10 Saudi Arabian detainees held in Guantanamo Bay. Once these 10 detainees have been repatriated, Saudi Arabia’s connection with the infamous prison which was established in 2002 to hold Taliban and Al Qaeda captives will be over.

The Saudi Press Agency [SPA] quoted the security spokesman for the Interior Ministry as saying that efforts are ongoing to restore all remaining Saudi detainees being held in Guantanamo Bay, and that the 3 detainees who had been repatriated arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday morning, and they will be subject to the [security] regulations in force in Saudi Arabia.

The spokesman added that the families of the three detainees had been informed of their release, and all facilities had been provided for them to meet with the returnees. The spokesman stressed that all efforts were being made to restore the 10 remaining Saudi detainees, in spite of the difficulties these efforts were facing as a result of some of the previous returnees violating the [security] regulations that had been imposed upon them.

The security spokesman commended the key role played by former detainees who showed continued commitment to instruction and [security] regulations in securing further releases.

The highest proportion of inmates held at Guantanamo Bay were Saudi citizens, the majority of whom were captured by US forces in Afghanistan during the so-called “War on Terror.” The Saudi Arabian security authorities enrolled the Guantanamo Bay returnees in rehabilitation programs in order to help them re-integrate into society after an absence of – in some cases – more than 5 years.

The 3 returnees met with their families, before being transferred to a non-disclosed location where they will be questioned by security agents.