Gitmo Detainees Back In Kabul

Seventeen Afghan men released from the U.S. detention center for terror suspects in Guantanamo Bay were turned over to local authorities in the capital on Tuesday with a warning not to discuss mistreatment at the facility. At least one of the men nonetheless accused the U.S. military of abuse.

The men, nearly all bearded and most wearing blue-jean jackets bearing a number on it, were handed over during a ceremony at the Afghan Supreme Court, where they were taken after the long flight back from the U.S. facility in Cuba.

It was the largest known release of prisoners from Guantanamo Bay since September. At least one Turkish man, Salih Uyar, was handed over to authorities in his home country, accoridng to the Anatolia news agency.

Afghan Chief Justice Fazl Hadi Shinwari urged the men not to complain of bad treatment during a press conference at the court.

"Don't tell these people the stories of your time in prison because the government is trying to secure the release of others, and it may harm the (chances of winning the) release of your friends," he said.

One of the detainees, Abdul Rahman, said there had been abuse but would not go into detail.

"There was a lot of bad treatment against us, but this is not the time to tell you," said Rahman, who spent 3 ½ years at Guantanamo Bay. "Everybody in the world knows what kind of jail it is. I can't talk about it now."

Rahman, who looked to be in his 40s, said he was from Zabul province, a hotbed of militant activity north of the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.

Gul Zaman, another released prisoner who said he had also spent 3 ½ years at the jail, said he was innocent and demanded compensation. He said American forces arrested him, his father, cousin and another man from his village in Khost province. All of the others are still being held.

"I want my government to ask the Americans if they have any evidence we committed a crime. My father and cousin are innocent, and my father is very old. They must be released," he said.

The men were only allowed brief comments before they were whisked away by Afghan security agents.

An intelligence official told The Associated Press the men would be held at an undisclosed location in the capital Tuesday evening, but would be sent back home as early as Wednesday. It was not clear whether the government would help them return to their provinces, or if they would make their own way.

In late March, the Pentagon declared that 38 Guantanamo Bay prisoners were no longer considered "enemy combatants" — the bulk of them from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Five of those men had already been sent home, but the other 33 remained at the U.S. Navy base awaiting transportation.

It was not immediately clear if the 17 Afghans turned over Tuesday were from that group.

The U.S. military has released more than 200 detainees from Guantanamo, but many — including dozens of prisoners sent to the United Kingdom, Russia, France, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan — are freed on the condition they will be held by their home countries.

Some 38 Pakistanis — including at least 29 released from Guantanamo Bay in September — are still being held in their home country, most without charge. The government has said it is "debriefing" the men.

Tuesday's release was the first of Afghans from Guantanamo this year.

In January, the U.S. military freed 81 prisoners held at American detention centers in Afghanistan. At the time, Shinwari said his government was pressing for the release of hundreds more Afghans from American custody.

On Tuesday, the chief justice said the release was the result of negotiations between the Afghan and American governments, and indicated more would follow.

"There are three kinds of prisoners in Guantanamo. There are those that have committed crimes and should be there, then there are people who were falsely denounced, and third there are those who are there because of the mistakes of the Americans," he said.

American and allied Afghan forces captured thousands of suspected Taliban and al Qaeda members in Afghanistan after a U.S.-led invasion toppled the repressive Taliban government in late 2001.

Hundreds of detainees have been classified as "enemy combatants" and transferred to Guantanamo.

Shinwari said in January that some 400 Afghans continue to be held at U.S. jails here and in Guantanamo, though exact numbers were not clear.