Posted on Feb 13, 2015
Former Guantanamo Detainee in Argentina, Calls for Asylum
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A former Guantanamo detainee who was resettled in Uruguay has appeared in neighboring Argentina wearing a prison-style orange jumpsuit and asked the country to grant asylum for detainees still at the U.S. detention facility.
Abu Wa'el Dhiab told Barricada TV that he believed "the Argentine government could receive the prisoners at Guantanamo here in a humanitarian way." The 19-minute interview was posted by several local websites Thursday.
Speaking in Arabic with a Spanish translator, Dhiab said he would formally request asylum for other detainees, but did not elaborate. Calls to Argentina's Foreign Ministry and the office of President Cristina Fernandez seeking comment were not returned.
During the interview, which took place Wednesday, Dhiab recounted hunger strikes that he participated in and he criticized the U.S. government for not closing the Guantanamo prison.
While at Guantanamo, Dhiab was at the center of a legal battle in U.S. courts over the military's use of force-feeding. When he arrived in Uruguay in December, he was reportedly weak as a result of repeated hunger strikes. In the video, Dhiab appears thin but not overly so.
The 46-year-old Syrian was one of six men who were released in December and resettled in Uruguay. It was unclear if Dhiab was still in Argentina or if he had returned to Uruguay. His lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.
Dhiab and the other prisoners do not have passports but upon arrival in Uruguay as refugees they were issued national identity cards, which is all they need to travel from that country to neighboring Argentina. In similar fashion, some prisoners have been sent to European Union countries and are free to travel around the EU.
Read more:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/guantanamo-detainee-argentina-calls-asylum-28919261
Abu Wa'el Dhiab told Barricada TV that he believed "the Argentine government could receive the prisoners at Guantanamo here in a humanitarian way." The 19-minute interview was posted by several local websites Thursday.
Speaking in Arabic with a Spanish translator, Dhiab said he would formally request asylum for other detainees, but did not elaborate. Calls to Argentina's Foreign Ministry and the office of President Cristina Fernandez seeking comment were not returned.
During the interview, which took place Wednesday, Dhiab recounted hunger strikes that he participated in and he criticized the U.S. government for not closing the Guantanamo prison.
While at Guantanamo, Dhiab was at the center of a legal battle in U.S. courts over the military's use of force-feeding. When he arrived in Uruguay in December, he was reportedly weak as a result of repeated hunger strikes. In the video, Dhiab appears thin but not overly so.
The 46-year-old Syrian was one of six men who were released in December and resettled in Uruguay. It was unclear if Dhiab was still in Argentina or if he had returned to Uruguay. His lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.
Dhiab and the other prisoners do not have passports but upon arrival in Uruguay as refugees they were issued national identity cards, which is all they need to travel from that country to neighboring Argentina. In similar fashion, some prisoners have been sent to European Union countries and are free to travel around the EU.
Read more:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/guantanamo-detainee-argentina-calls-asylum-28919261
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Terrorism
Terrorism
Posted 10 y ago
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SSG Norman Lihou
Kudos for the Evita song reference 1SG (P) Jerry Healy. I also think that all Argentina needs is AQ/Sunni terrorist setting up camp in an area of Iran/Shia terrorist operations. Get ready for the fireworks in South America.
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