06/12/2006
By DIANA ELIAS
Associated Press Writer
KUWAIT CITY (AP) - Kuwait's highest court of appeal overturned the conviction of a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner on Tuesday, acquitting him of terror-related charges, his lawyer said.
Nasser al-Mutairi, 28, a Muslim fundamentalist, was captured by American forces in Afghanistan in 2001 during the ``war on terror'' campaign that followed the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. He returned Kuwait last year after almost three years in the U.S. military prison in Cuba.
He was put on trial soon after his return and sentenced to five years in prison for joining a foreign military force without permission, harming Kuwait by serving the interest of a ``foreign country,'' and undergoing illegal weapons training.
A criminal court aquitted him in June, but months later an appeals court ruled that he was guilty and sentenced him to five years in jail. Tuesday's decision by the Court of Cassation is final.
Eight Kuwaitis have come home since serving in Guantanamo, the main U.S. detention facility for alleged terrorists captured in Afghanistan and other places. Two are currently in Kuwaiti detention. The remainder stood trial on terror charges but were acquitted.
SOURCE: The Guardian
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