Saudi Arabia has sent a team of experts to inspect the conditions of over 100 of its nationals detained in the United States Guantanamo base in Cuba after receiving a go ahead from Washington, a newspaper said Saturday.
The team, composed of officials from the interior and foreign ministries, left the Saudi Kingdom on Friday, an interior ministry source said, quoted in the Al-Watan daily.
The source declined to say whether the team would press for the repatriation of the detainees, adding that this might happen only after the team reports back to Riyadh.
Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz said in January there were more than 100 Saudis detained in Guantanamo. He requested their repatriation to interrogate them in the kingdom.
He later suggested that Riyadh would, if allowed, send a commission of inquiry to Guantanamo to interrogate them there. US authorities have refused to give the Guantanamo detainees prisoner-of-war status, as set out under the Geneva Conventions, and are reserving the right to try them before secret US military tribunals that have the power to impose the death penalty. Thus far, none of them have been charged with any crime. (Albawaba.com)
