Yemen to receive dozens of its citizens at the end of this year [Archives:2007/1096/Front Page]
Amel Al-Ariqi
SANA'A, Oct. 21 ) Forty Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo expected to be released at the end of this year, said human rights activist. “The American lawyers informed us that the American Defense Department is working to release seventy detainees, most of them are Yemenis. We are expecting thirty to forty Yemenis will arrive at the end of this year,” said Ahmed Arman, human right activist and lawyer at Hood organization.
“The lawyers told us that the decision of releasing these inmates came after extensive investigations and finding them ” not enemy combatant” he American government now and according to the lawyers wants to hand over these prisoners but they are arguing their governments not to re-arrest them” explained Arman.
Yemeni authorities released four ex-Guantanamo inmates after more than three months in prison since they have been extradited by the US authorities in Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba to Yemen.
An official source identified the released as Fawzi No'man Hamoud, Ali Muhsen Saleh Nassir, Sadeq Mohammad Saeed Isameel and Hani Abdu Musleh Shulan.
Ex-Taliban chef Ali Nasser, who was released early this month from Guantanamo, is now the only ex-Guantanamo prisoner at the central prison in Sana'a. Yet the Yemeni authority has not charged him.
The Amnesty International has appealed to president Abdullah Saleh to release Guantanamo returnees who are being held in Yemenis prisons without charges or trials.
“They can't make any interview with the media because they are suffering from bad psychological states due to the long term in detention.” Said Arman confirming that the International Justice Network is working now to provide Yemeni doctors with training courses about psychological rehabilitation to those detainees to enable them to cope their new lives.
“American lawyers become name the gtimo prison as Yemeni prison indicting that most of the inmates are Yemenis,” confirmed Arman.
American Lawyers argue that U.S government would like to return Yemenis home and that it would like to close Guantanamo altogether, but it cannot do so because governments like those of Yemen will not accept the prisoners back, or re-arrest them. While Yemeni government insists on the return of its citizens detained in Guantanamo prison, rejecting the American lawyers claims.
Yemen is the country with the most prisoners at Guantanamo: The figure is 97. So far only 13 out of 107 have been returned.
In 2005 and 2006 Yemen received several Yemeni inmates from the Guantanamo Bay prison and placed some of them on trial. None were charged with terrorism-related activities.
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