Guantanamo Bay Prisoner Returns To Germany After 4 Years In Detention
Yvonne Lee - All Headline News Staff Reporter Berlin, Germany (AHN) - A Turkish citizen returns to Germany, where he was born, after spending more than four years at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. Attorney Bernhard Docke says in a statement that Murat Kurnaz, 24, was flown to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where he was freed. Docke says, "He is now again in the circle of his family... Their joy at embracing their lost son again is indescribable." Kurnaz's transfer came after lengthy negotiations between the U.S. Department of Defense and German authorities. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Chito Peppler, a Pentagon spokesman, says the U.S. asked Germany for assurances that Kurnaz would not pose a threat to the international community. Chancellor Angela Merkel, along with other German officials, worked to free Kurnaz, who was born in Bremen, Germany. Kurnaz was detained by Pakistani authorities after traveling there in October 2001. He was then turned over to the United States. He had been imprisoned at Guantanamo since January 2002. U.S. authorities said secret evidence showed Kurnaz was a member of al-Qaeda. His attorneys say a review of declassified evidence showed no indication he was connected to al-Qaeda, the Taliban or any other threatening group. Kurnaz says he traveled to Pakistan to study Islam for a few weeks.
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