A suspected former bodyguard to Osama bin Laden has been transferred from Guantanamo Bay to his native Saudi Arabia, according to U.S. DoD officials.
“The United States is grateful to the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The United States coordinated with the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to ensure this transfer took place consistent with appropriate security and humane treatment measures,” the Defense Department said in a statement.
The Washington Post notes that the prisoner was “a longtime hunger striker at the military prison” and “was once deemed too dangerous to release has been repatriated.”
According to The Post, a military review board in June “cleared Abdul Rahman Shalabi, 39, for release. The board said that the effectiveness of the Saudi rehabilitation program that he is to enter and the country’s ability to monitor him were important factors in its decision.”
