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A German man was detained as a suspected terrorist at Guantanamo Bay for four years, despite findings by United States investigators that he had no link to al Qaeda, newly released documents say.
The former detainee, Murat Kurnaz, was turned over to German authorities and freed in 2006 after a personal plea from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Kurnaz' case was cited at the US Supreme Court by a lawyer who argued that the 305 detainees remaining at Guantanamo should be allowed to use civilian courts to challenge their detention.
Lawyer Seth Waxman pointed to Kurnaz, who like many others detained at Guantanamo Bay, was not told of much of the evidence gathered by military tribunals that detained him.
A German intelligence officer reported on September 26, 2002 that "USA considers Murat Kurnaz' innocence to be proven" and that he would be released in six to eight weeks.
Newly declassified documents and court records cite reports from military investigators indicating no evidence had been found linking Kurnaz to al Qaeda or Islamic militants who once governed Afghanistan.
The military task force assessing Kurnaz said it "is not aware of any evidence that Kurnaz has knowingly harboured any individual who was a member of al Qaeda or has engaged in, aided or abetted or conspired to commit acts of terrorism against the US, its citizens or interests."
A military tribunal ruled Kurnaz was an enemy combatant based on allegations that he was associated with a suicide bomber and a religious group in Pakistan, some of whose members are hostile toward the United States.
In Kurnaz' case, the military told him the reason he was being held was that he was associated with a suicide bomber.
His lawyer established that the supposed terrorist was never involved in terrorism.
- AP
