UK, Australian Guantanamo inmates to be freed

LONDON: Four remaining Britons and an Australian being held at Guantanamo Bay will be released soon, officials said on Tuesday, amid reports the number of prisoners at the US military base would be radically reduced.

A lawyer acting for two of the Britons said all the British detainees would be released within weeks.

“The Foreign Office has confirmed to me that the four of them will be coming back within the next few weeks,” human rights lawyer Louise Christian said. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was making a statement on the four to parliament later on Tuesday.

One of two Australian terror suspects would also be returned home soon, the Australian government said on Tuesday, adding he would not be charged. There was no immediate comment from US authorities. The US holds about 550 non-US citizens at Guantanamo. Only four have been charged. The Financial Times reported this week that the release was part of a plan to radically reduce the number of prisoners held at the base in Cuba. reuters

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