The detainee, identified as Muhammad Abdallah Mansur al-Rimi, 37, was arrested in 2002 in Afghanistan, said Saleh Abdulsalam, the executive manager of the Gadhafi International Association for Charitable Organizations.

Al-Rimi was the first of some 11 Libyans held at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to be released, said Abdulsalam.

The U.S. military repatriated 18 detainees from Guantanamo Bay to Afghanistan, Yemen, Kazakhstan, Libya and Bangladesh, a Pentagon spokesman said Dec. 17. The men were all transferred to the custody of governments in their native countries.

In mid-December, 16 Saudis returned home from Guantanamo and were being held by Saudi authorities.

Some 759 people have been held over the years at Guantanamo, according to U.S. Defense Department documents.

The Japan Times Weekly: Dec. 23, 2006
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