US says Cuba men won't go free
2004-03-08 07:00
London - US authorities believe four British prisoners being held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba are too dangerous to free, the Daily Telegraph reported on Monday.
The announcement comes ahead of the expected release of five other prisoners this week.
The report coincides with British Home Secretary David Blunkett's trip to the United States, where he will finalise arrangements for the release of the five from the prison at the US naval base and seek fair treatment for the remaining four British detainees.
The Telegraph cited the US military as saying the four Britons who will not be released were trained in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, where they were taught how to make bombs.
The four are too dangerous to free and would pose a serious threat if released, the sources were quoted as saying.
The four men were named as Feroz Abbasi, 23, Moazzam Begg, 36, Richard Belmar, 23, and Martin Mubanga, 29.
The United States is holding more than 650 people, captured since October 2001 in its war on terrorism, at the Guantanamo base.
- AFP