One of five men who were flown back to Britain on March 9 after more than two years' detention by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was released without charge, police said.

Police detained one man and arrested four other British men after their arrival at Northolt Royal Air Force base northwest of London in a military C-17 aircraft.

While the four others were taken to high-security Paddington Green Police Station in West London, Jamal al-Harith, 37, was detained at the base for questioning under port and border controls within the Terrorism Act, and later released without being charged.

Al-Harith's lawyer said his client "wants the U.S. authorities to answer for the injustice that he has suffered. He's been held as an innocent person for a period of over two years. He's been treated in a cruel, inhuman and degrading manner."

The five were released from the U.S. Navy prison in Cuba after months of talks between British and American officials, including U.S. President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Four British detainees remain at Guantanamo and negotiations over their fates will continue.

The Japan Times Weekly: March 13, 2003
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