Ex-Gitmo Al-Shamrani returns to the Kingdom

RIYADH – Muhammad Al-Shamrani, a Saudi inmate at the US detention center in Guantanamo Bay, has been repatriated to the Kingdom. Al-Shamrani arrived in the Kingdom on Tuesday morning, according to the security spokesman at the Ministry of Interior. “The relatives of Al-Shamrani have been informed about his arrival and the procedures were made to meet him. He will be subjected to necessary procedures and regulations that include taking advantage of the counseling and rehabilitation program, being implemented by the ministry,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the spokesman as saying. Al-Shamrani had spent 14 years in Guantanamo, where he was held without trial, according to AFP. The release of Al-Shamrani brought down the number of prisoners at Guantanamo to 103. “The United States is grateful to the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its willingness to support ongoing US efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility,” the Pentagon said in a statement. 
Of the 103 remaining inmates, 44 have been approved for transfer, and the Pentagon is trying to find countries to take them as it struggles to honor President Barack Obama’s 2009 order to close the prison. Many are from Yemen and cannot go back, given its collapse into civil war. US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter in December signed off on 17 of the 44 to be transferred as soon as this month, and three were released last week: two to Ghana and one to Kuwait. Officials say additional releases are expected soon. Kingdom condemns terror attacks Meanwhile, an official source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the Kingdom’s strong condemnation of the terrorist attacks that struck Iraq and Turkey which resulted in the killing of many innocent people. 
In a statement to SPA, the source confirmed the Kingdom’s stand by the brotherly countries in the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The source offered the Kingdom’s condolences to the families of victims and the governments of Iraq and Turkey, wishing a speedy recovery for the injured people.