KUWAIT CITY: The last Kuwaiti prisoner in the US Guantanamo Bay prison returned home Saturday to a family reception after 14 years of detention, the head of a detainee group said.
Faez Mohammed Ahmed Al-Kandari became the last of 12 Kuwaitis held for long terms in the prison as the United States prepares to close the facility.
"He looked tired but his morale was very high. He was welcomed at the airport by his father, two brothers and uncle," Khalid al-Oudah, head of the society of families of Kuwaiti prisoners in Guantanamo, who was also present, told AFP.
Kandari was immediately taken to a military hospital for medical examination where dozens of relatives led by his mother were allowed to greet and talk to him freely, Oudah said.
The former prisoner was brought back to the Gulf state aboard a private jet which flew from Guantanamo to the emirate via Casablanca, Morocco.
He had been held without trial in the Caribbean detention centre since 2002, and his return to Kuwait now means the facility has a population of 104.
President Barack Obama pledged to shut Guantanamo when he took office in 2009, but his efforts have been repeatedly thwarted by Congress.
Oudah said Kandari will remain in hospital for some time and only his close family members will be allowed to visit him.
He will then be taken to a rehabilitation centre for more than six months after which prosecutors will interrogate him and decide whether to pursue legal action, Oudah said.
Oudah thanked the efforts of Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and other authorities in securing the return of Kandari.
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