Saudi Arabia releases three former Guantanamo detainees News
Saudi Arabia releases three former Guantanamo detainees

[JURIST] Saudi Arabia has freed three former Guantanamo Bay detainees who were repatriated [JURIST report] there last year. According to an Interior Ministry source, the three "admitted to have been present in troubled areas without obtaining the consent of their parents or permission from the country's authority in addition to having committed other violations, including using forged documents and putting the life of their families at stake." Two were sentenced to a year in prison, and one to the time he served in Guantanamo, but all have been released "on legal guarantees." Last month the US transferred 15 more Saudi detainees [JURIST report] to Saudi custody after their release was approved by a Guantanamo Administrative Review Board [DOD backgrounder]. The Saudi Arabian government freed five former Guantanamo detainees [JURIST report] last year, after they were transferred to Saudi Arabia in 2003. The Saudi Press Agency has more.

According to the US Department of Defense [official website], Guantanamo still holds 460 detainees, but 120 have been declared eligible for release or transfer to their home country. The US has been in the process of expediting the transfer of detainees [JURIST report] to give their home countries a greater role in the prosecution of alleged terrorists. Reuters has more.