Gulf | Bahrain
Ex-detainees need more help to adapt, says lawyer
Six Bahraini former Guantanamo detainees should receive more assistance from their government and their fellow citizens, their lawyer said ahead of the first anniversary of the return home of the last prisoner.
- By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
- Published: 13:00 July 3, 2008
Manama: Six Bahraini former Guantanamo detainees should receive more assistance from their government and their fellow citizens, their lawyer said ahead of the first anniversary of the return home of the last prisoner.
"It has been nearly a year since the last of our clients returned home to Bahrain from Guantanamo. This is a very happy anniversary and a good occasion for us to offer our thanks to everyone who helped bring our clients back.
"The first anniversary is an occasion to remember the challenges our clients faced in returning home after years in detention. Anyone in that situation would need help in making the transition to a normal life, but it seems this help has been made available to some more than to others," attorney Joshua Colangelo-Bryan said.
"For example, Juma Al Dossary, who returned to Saudi Arabia, has received a great deal of assistance from the government there, as have all Saudi former detainees. This assistance, which has been financial and otherwise, has allowed Juma to adjust very well to his life at home," he said in a statement conveyed to Gulf News by rights activist Nabeel Rajab, a long-time supporter of the group.
Al Dossary, who has dual Bahraini-Saudi nationality, was released in July last year and spent several months at a rehabilitation centre.
The Saudi authorities gave him a car and a monthly allowance and helped him find a job and get married.
"The soft approach rehabilitation programme launched by Saudi authorities to keep him from relapsing into extremism has been successful," his nephew, Nawaf Al Dossary, told Gulf News.
However, the five other Bahraini former prisoners, Eisa Al Murbati, Salah Abdul Rasool Al Blooshi, Adel Kamal Hajji, Salman Ebrahim Al Khalifa and Abdullah Majid Al Naimi, did not have the same level of help, the lawyer said.
"For that reason, we call on the government and the people of Bahrain to offer a helping hand to those who might need it. This will ensure that people who have suffered greatly have the chance to rebuild their lives," Colangelo-Bryan said.
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