Lawyer Says Kuwaiti Man Released From Guantanamo
A Guantanamo Bay detainee from Kuwait has been released to his home country, a lawyer for the man said Thursday.
Attorney David Cynamon said a Kuwaiti plane arrived at the U.S. military detention center in Cuba to pick up Khaled al-Mutairi, and the plane is now headed back to Kuwait.
"It took far too long _ more than seven years _ to get a fair hearing," said Cynamon. "He lost many years of his life because the U.S. government fought against giving fair hearings to these detainees."
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment or confirm al-Mutairi's departure.
In July, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly had ordered al-Mutairi released.
His departure leaves 222 inmates still at the detention center.
Al-Mutairi has been held since 2001, when he was taken into U.S. custody in Pakistan after traveling to Afghanistan. His attorneys said he went to build a mosque and provide money for schools and orphans, but prosecutors said he fought against the United States and supported al-Qaida.