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Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: US officials, apparently caught off guard by the Saudi government's recent release of more than two dozen former Guantanamo Bay prisoners, are voicing fears that the men will join violent extremist groups.
Saudi officials said the 29 men were released from jail so that they could take part in observance of Ramadan and were instructed to return to custody by the end of this month.
Although the men are still under investigation for possible terrorist ties, Saudi officials said they were not considered serious threats. "Throwing people in jail and letting them rot is not the answer," said Nail Al Jubier, spokesman for the Saudi Embassy in Washington.
The commander at the sprawling camp here for terrorism suspects was sceptical about that.
"I'm interested in if they go back to the fight," said Rear Admiral Harry B. Harris, citing US estimates that about 50 of 300 men released since Guantanamo opened in 2002 have resumed plotting against US interests worldwide.
Detainees from Saudi Arabia make up one of the largest groups at the Guantanamo camp.
So it was not surprising that the mass release for Ramadan raised eyebrows among US officials.
"We're certainly hoping they don't come back and haunt us," said a senior State Department official
Saudi officials said the men were released to their families to help rehabilitate them. "The idea is to slowly bring them back into the fold of society," embassy spokesman Al Jubier said.
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