seruriermarshal
06-16-2004, 06:31 PM
Guantanamo detainees 'in good shape'
Riyadh - Saudi officials visited the 124 Saudi detainees at the United States naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and ascertained that they are generally in good shape, the interior ministry said Wednesday.
"The Saudi security team charged with following up the conditions of Saudi detainees in Guantanamo visited them there to check on their situation, help bring about their release and ensure they are in touch with their families," a ministry official said, quoted by the state SPA news agency.
"The team met all 124 Saudi detainees and found that they are generally in good physical and psychological shape and that all those who were wounded during the Afghanistan events have recovered," the official said.
He did not give the date of the visit but said it was the second of its kind.
The announcement comes against a backdrop of press reports about the anguish of the families of the detainees, who are among roughly 600 prisoners held during the US war on Afghanistan in late 2001 who have been neither charged nor tried.
It also coincides with reports that some of the Guantanamo prisoners may have suffered abuse similar to that inflicted by US troops on counterparts in Iraq.
Some Saudi families have been quoted as complaining they had not received any letters from their detained sons for several months. Many families, as well as lawyers, have said the detainees are young and had gone to Afghanistan to participate in relief work.
"The Saudi security team held several meetings with the sides concerned with the detention (of the Saudis) and discussed the situation of the detainees as a whole and the possibility of their handover to the kingdom or (at least) those who have not been proven guilty," the interior ministry official said.
"The team is continuously pursuing its work in an effort to help end the issue of Saudi detainees in Guantanamo as soon as possible," the official said.
The team brought back letters from the prisoners who chose to write to their relatives, he added.
Washington has classified the Guantanamo prisoners as "illegal combatants" rather than as prisoners of war, drawing worldwide criticism from governments and human rights groups. Charges have been laid against only a handful of the detainees from 42 countries being held at the base.
From (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=qw1087394222162S325)
Riyadh - Saudi officials visited the 124 Saudi detainees at the United States naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and ascertained that they are generally in good shape, the interior ministry said Wednesday.
"The Saudi security team charged with following up the conditions of Saudi detainees in Guantanamo visited them there to check on their situation, help bring about their release and ensure they are in touch with their families," a ministry official said, quoted by the state SPA news agency.
"The team met all 124 Saudi detainees and found that they are generally in good physical and psychological shape and that all those who were wounded during the Afghanistan events have recovered," the official said.
He did not give the date of the visit but said it was the second of its kind.
The announcement comes against a backdrop of press reports about the anguish of the families of the detainees, who are among roughly 600 prisoners held during the US war on Afghanistan in late 2001 who have been neither charged nor tried.
It also coincides with reports that some of the Guantanamo prisoners may have suffered abuse similar to that inflicted by US troops on counterparts in Iraq.
Some Saudi families have been quoted as complaining they had not received any letters from their detained sons for several months. Many families, as well as lawyers, have said the detainees are young and had gone to Afghanistan to participate in relief work.
"The Saudi security team held several meetings with the sides concerned with the detention (of the Saudis) and discussed the situation of the detainees as a whole and the possibility of their handover to the kingdom or (at least) those who have not been proven guilty," the interior ministry official said.
"The team is continuously pursuing its work in an effort to help end the issue of Saudi detainees in Guantanamo as soon as possible," the official said.
The team brought back letters from the prisoners who chose to write to their relatives, he added.
Washington has classified the Guantanamo prisoners as "illegal combatants" rather than as prisoners of war, drawing worldwide criticism from governments and human rights groups. Charges have been laid against only a handful of the detainees from 42 countries being held at the base.
From (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=qw1087394222162S325)