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| Europe |
| Guantanamo inmates back in France |
| 2004-07-27 |
| Four French nationals captured by US troops in Afghanistan have been transferred home from the US military base in Guantanamo Bay. The detainees - among seven Frenchmen seized during the war against the Taleban in late 2001 - arrived at the Evreux air base, west of Paris. President Jacques Chirac said the handover was as a result of "long discussions" with Washington. The men are expected to appear before a French anti-terrorism magistrate. Nearly 600 prisoners from the US "war on terror" are still held at Guantanamo naval base in Cuba. The four touched down on French soil on Tuesday, only to be taken directly into custody by police working for France's counter-intelligence agency, the DST. "Long and intensive discussions have resulted in the return to France of four nationals detained in Guantanamo," President Chirac told reporters on a visit to Madagascar. They "will of course be handed over to (French) justice authorities," he was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying. Officials named the four as Mourad Benchellali, Imad Kanouni, Nizar Sassi and Brahim Yadel. A lawyer for two of the freed detainees expressed concern about his clients. "The last we heard suggested they were in a poor psychological condition," lawyer Jacques Debray said. The BBC's Caroline Wyatt in Paris says the case of the seven French Guantanamo detainees has failed to arouse much public sympathy in the country - although there has been widespread indignation over what many French people see as abuse of prisoners' human rights at the base. While the French authorities have been keen to remove the men from US custody, they are equally keen to interrogate them themselves, our correspondent adds. The four are expected to appear before France's chief anti-terrorism judge, Jean-Louis Bruguiere, in the coming days. In France terror suspects can be held for questioning for up to four days, after which they must either be released or placed under investigation. Correspondent Hugh Schofield says that if they are placed under investigation and ordered to be detained until trial, the whole process - judging by past experience - could take years. The French foreign ministry says discussions are continuing with the US authorities "with a view to obtaining as quickly as possible the release of the other [three] French prisoners at Guantanamo". Those remaining in Guantanamo are Ridouane Khalid, Khaled Ben Mustafa and Mustaq Ali Patel, officials said. Before the latest transfers, 594 detainees were being held at Guantanamo. In another development, the Pentagon has announced that it will begin to review the cases of the remaining detainees this week. The military is preparing hearing rooms inside trailers in the Camp Delta prison at Guantanamo, a Pentagon spokeswoman said. The US military set up the "Combatant Status Review Tribunals" following a Supreme Court ruling enabling inmates to challenge their detention through the US legal system. During the review process detainees: can testify and request affidavits from witnessesPentagon officials reckon that the tribunals are going to get through probably three detainee cases a day, hoping to complete the reviews in two to three months. |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |
| #2 Yeah, they're about as French as I am. You mock the names of the following, #1, as being un-French? Your humor is very racist, insensitive, and intolerant. I will report you immediately to Police De Pensée De Frère. Officials named the four as Mourad Benchellali, Imad Kanouni, Nizar Sassi and Brahim Yadel. In France terror suspects can be held for questioning for up to four days, after which they must either be released or placed under investigation...if they are placed under investigation and ordered to be detained until trial, the whole process - judging by past experience - could take years. Any bets these gentlemen will be released after 4 days? |
| Posted by: rex 2004-07-27 10:50:23 PM |
| #1 Yeah, they're about as French as I am. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-07-27 8:42:15 PM |