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Arabia

Kuwaiti court clears ex-Guantánamo captives

2007-03-04

A criminal court on Saturday acquitted two former Guantánamo Bay prisoners of joining al Qaeda or the Taliban. Omar Rajab Amin and Abdullah Kamel al Kundari denied any terror connections at the start of their trial. Their lawyers argued there was no evidence against them and the case was ''political.'' Defense attorneys said the accused were in Afghanistan for charity work -- not to fight. Details of the ruling, which was announced by a court clerk, were not immediately available. Their lawyer, Thikra al Majdali, said she expected them to be released from custody by tomorrow. The prosecution can appeal the ruling, but it was not clear Saturday if it would do so. Amin, 41, and Kundari, 32, were held for nearly five years at the prison camps in remote southeast Cuba until their release in September. They were detained by authorities for questioning upon their return to Kuwait. The prosecution claimed the pair had harmed Kuwait's political image by becoming members of Osama bin Laden's terror network and joining the ranks of Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime that hosted al Qaeda and fought U.S. forces. The two had ties to charities which were linked to terror groups and their names had been found on the hard drive of a computer seized from a suspected al Qaeda member. Six other Kuwaitis formerly held in Guantánamo have been acquitted here of terror charges. Another four are still imprisoned there. ''We call on the United States to either give our four sons a fair trial in America or any other place in the world, or to hand them to Kuwait so that they can be . . . given their legal right to defend themselves,'' said Khaled al Odah, who heads a private group that lobbies for the release of the Kuwaiti prisoners -- including his son -- from the U.S. Navy base in Cuba. The U.S. military did not charge Amin or Kundari with any crimes. According to military documents and David Cynamon, their U.S. attorney, the two had ties to charities which were linked to terror groups and their names had been found on the hard drive of a computer seized from a suspected al Qaeda member.

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Arabia

Kuwaiti emir asked Bush for Gitmo boyz

2006-09-30

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The ruler of Kuwait made a personal appeal to US President George W. Bush that helped secure the release this month of two of that country’s citizens from the Guantanamo Bay prison, their attorney said. Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, the emir of the oil-rich US ally, sought the transfer of six Kuwaiti detainees to their homeland during a visit to Washington on Sept. 5, attorney David Cynamon said on Thursday in a conference call with reporters. “The emir was pressing and indeed the government of Kuwait has been pressing for the release of all the (Kuwaiti) detainees, not just the two” who were sent home nine days later, Cynamon said. Cynamon said diplomatic efforts were continuing to secure the release of the other four Kuwaitis — whom he represents — still among the roughly 465 alleged al-Qaida and Taliban supporters detained at the US Naval base in southeastern Cuba. “It is distressing that the administration has been dragging its feet so long in repatriating these men to Kuwait,” he said. Distressing to you and their mothers, perhaps, but I don't feel the slightest twinge of distress. Even the chili went down fine tonight. “The military said they had ties to charities with links to terror groups and that their names had been found on the hard drive of a computer seized from a suspected Al Qaeda member.” The two men released on Sept. 14 - Omar Rajab Amin, 41, and Abdullah Kamel al-Kundari, 32 - had been held at Guantanamo for four years. The military said they had ties to charities with links to terror groups and that their names had been found on the hard drive of a computer seized from a suspected Al Qaeda member. Collecting for the Widows Ammunition Fund. Cynamon denied they had such links, and said he expected they would be cleared by Kuwaiti courts. "Lies! All lies!" The last part I fully believe. Of COURSE they will be cleared. Pessimist. Al-Kundari was a former member of Kuwait’s national volleyball team who before his arrest worked as an engineer for the Ministry of Water and Electricity. Then he got religion. Amin, who attended college in Nebraska, was also accused by the military of being a terrorist financier who had provided “large amounts” of money to Osama bin Laden - accusations he denied.

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Arabia

U.S. Sends 2 Gitmo Detainees to Kuwait

2006-09-15

KUWAIT CITY (AP) - Two Kuwaitis released from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay returned on Friday to their homeland, where their lawyer said they would face trials on terrorism-related charges. The U.S. military said an administrative review board had recommended the two men be transferred back to Kuwait from the prison in southeastern Cuba, where the U.S. now holds about 455 men on suspicion of links to al-Qaida or the Taliban. Two two men, Omar Rajab Amin, 41, and Abdullah Kamel al-Kundari, 32, who had been held at Guantanamo for four years, arrived at an airport in Kuwait early Friday, said Khaled al-Odah, who heads the Kuwaiti Family Committee, an advocacy group for men held at the prison. They were taken to a hospital for a medical examination and to meet with their families. Both men had been held at Guantanamo since January 2002, but had not been charged with any crimes. The military said that they had ties to charities with links to terror groups and that their names had been found on the hard drive of a computer seized from a suspected al-Qaida member, according to their attorney, David Cynamon, and military documents. Cynamon said the two men had only traveled to Afghanistan to help refugees from the country's civil war and have no connection to any terror groups. Just pious Qur'an thumpers distributing aid and ammo. The lawyer predicted they would be cleared by the courts in their country - as were five other Kuwaitis previously released from Guantanamo.

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Arabia

Two Kuwaitis to be released from Gitmo in 2 weeks

2006-09-10

KUWAIT CITY - Two Kuwaitis held at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay will be released in about two weeks, the head of a private group that campaigns for their freedom said on Saturday. “I was informed by (Foreign Minister) Sheik Mohammed Al Sabah that they would be back in Kuwait before (the Muslim holy month of) Ramadan,” said Khaled al-Odah, who leads the Kuwaiti Family Committee for the Detainees in Guantanamo, a private group comprised of detainees’ relatives. Al-Odah, whose group works separately but closely with the government, identified the men as Omar Rajab Amin, 39, and Abdullah Kamel al-Kandari, 33. Here's hoping they waddle off the plane. There are six Kuwaitis currently held at Guantanamo, and six others have been freed in recent years. “Negotiations are still ongoing for the others,” said al-Odah, whose son Fawzi is among those still detained. Al-Kandari was arrested in Afghanistan in December 2001, and Amin was arrested in Pakistan around the same time, al-Odah said. The men’s families have said they were in the two countries to do charity work, not to fight for Al Qaeda or the Taleban. Just pious men collecting for the Widows Ammunition Fund.

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