By Houda Mzioudet,
Tripoli, 25 September 2013:
A former Libyan Guantanamo Bay inmate has been released from prison in the US and is . . .[restrict]due to arrive at Tripoli International Airport this evening.
Abdulhamid Abdussalam El Ghazzawi, aged 50 and said to be disabled, was kept at the controversial prison between 2002, when he was captured in Afghanistan, and 2010, when he was transferred to Georgia. He was accused by the Americans of being a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and being linked to Al Qaeda, a claim which he has denied.
His release was announced by the chairman of the Committee for Libyan Prisoners Abroad, Suleiman Fortia. The committee comes under the Ministry of Justice
According to Fortia, there are still four Libyan prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.These are However, the head of the Libyan Association to claim Prisoners Abroad, Taha Shakshuki, told the Libya Herald that the issue of Libyan Guantanamo prisoners is “complex ” and the number “not often accurate”.
“There is a failure with the Libyan Ministry of Justice system and the minister did not supply us with conclusive answers about all Libyan prisoners abroad,” he added.
He pointed to a lack of communication between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice in dealing with Libyan prisoners abroad, including those in Guantanamo Prison.
Libyans were still being detained in other parts of the world by the Americans, he alleged.
The Committee for Libyan Prisoners Abroad, said Fortia, had been in regular contact with the US Embassy in Tripoli and other countries to gain information about Libyan prisoners so as to arrange visits to them and follow up on their conditions. [/restrict]
