Guantanamo man finally freed
2006-01-11 19:49
Paris - A Frenchman held in detention since being returned to France after his release from the United States base in Guantanamo Bay 18 months ago was freed this week, officials said.
Nizar Sassi was freed on Monday after a request lodged this month by his lawyers and a decision by France's top anti-terrorist judge, Jean-Louis Bruguiere, that Sassi's incarceration was no longer necessary, they said.
Sassi was taken into custody in France in July 2004 after spending two years in Guantanamo, a US detention facility holding hundreds of men of various nationalities deemed terrorist suspects.
He was released from the base with three other French citizens, one of whom was freed from French custody last July after his lawyers, too, pushed his case.
Two other Frenchmen repatriated from Guantanamo in March 2005 remain in detention, while a third, also returned the same month, was freed.