More Saudis sent home from Guantanamo

A 14th former detainee of Turkestan descent whose parents live in Saudi Arabia arrived with the group early Sunday, Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz said.

The Pentagon announced Saturday that 14 Saudi nationals had been sent home from Guantanamo, apparently counting the Turkestan-born former inmate.

The state SPA news agency quoted Nayef as expressing "appreciation for the cooperation of the authorities concerned in the United States to facilitate the repatriation" of the group, who would be "subjected to the laws in force in the kingdom".

The Pentagon said one of the Saudis had been found by a special military tribunal to no longer be an enemy combatant, while the remaining 13 "were approved for transfer by an administrative review board decision".

The release of the group reduced the number of prisoners at the camp to "approximately 450", the Pentagon said.

It came after the US said two Saudis and one Yemeni committed suicide in the camp created after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to hold terror suspects captured by US troops in Afghanistan and other parts of the world.

The three were found in their cells on June 10 apparently after hanging themselves with cords fashioned from clothes and bedding, US officials said. Families of the three men disputed the account, accusing Washington of a cover-up.

Thirty-seven Saudis have now returned home from Guantanamo, leaving at least 90 Saudis still held in the notorious facility. The bodies of the two Saudis said to have committed suicide were also repatriated.

Approximately 310 Guantanamo detainees have now been handed over to countries including Afghanistan, Albania, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden and Uganda, the Pentagon said.

About 120 detainees still at Guantanamo are eligible for transfer or release through a military-run review process.

"Departure of these remaining detainees approved for transfer or release is subject to ongoing discussions between the United States and other nations," the Defense Department said Saturday.

"The department expects that there will continue to be other transfers or releases of detainees."

Continued detention of hundreds of foreign nationals without trial at the US naval base has prompted calls in Europe and elsewhere for the camp's closure.

Last month, British Attorney General Lord Goldsmith publicly called the detention center "unacceptable", adding that to many people it had become "a symbol... of injustice".

US President George W. Bush faced persistent calls for its closure during his visit to Europe this past week, but declined to give a specific commitment.

"I would like to end Guantanamo," he said on Wednesday in Vienna, after a summit with European Union leaders.