THE United States government has handed over two Malaysians held in Guantanamo Bay for 18 years, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said Malaysia accepted the return of the duo who had been held at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre since 2006 on human rights grounds.
Saifuddin's statement did not name the two Malaysians, though it has been reported that the duo in Guantanamo Bay are Mohamad Farik Amin, 48, and Mohammed Nazir Lep, 47.
They had been held in solitary confinement since their arrest by US authorities in Thailand in 2003 in connection with the Bali bombings the previous year.
They never faced trial until this year and in January, under a plea bargain, both men reached agreements with prosecutors to charges of being accessories to the terrorist attacks in Bali.
After a short trial, US military judge Lt. Col. Wesley A. Braun gave the duo a five-year jail sentence. - December 18, 2024
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