GUANTANAMO DETAINEE COMES HOME AFTER 12 YEARS

File photo showing US military guards as they move a detainee inside Camp VI at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (AFP)

Washington, 30 Muharam 1436/23 November 2014 (MINA) – A Saudi inmate at the US prison in Guantanamo prison, Cuba, was repatriated on Saturday, leaving 142 prisoners still at the jail President Barack Obama has pledged to close, the Pentagon said.

Mohammed Al-Zahrani is the latest of seven prisoners freed from the controversial jail in the past three weeks, Arab News quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Al-Zahrani was approved for transfer last month by the special review board, created by Obama in his efforts to shut the prison, the Pentagon statement said, adding that Congress was duly informed of the transfer.

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Held at Guantanamo for 12 years, the 43 or 44-year-old Saudi was considered until the latest review to present a “high risk” to American interests.

But the review board, composed of representatives from six government agencies, including the State and Defense departments, decided on Oct. 3 that Al-Zahrani, a suspected Al-Qaeda operative, no longer represented a threat to the United States. (T/P001)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)