Talks ongoing over release of Malaysian duo at Gitmo
KUALA LUMPUR: Diplomatic talks are going on between Malaysia and the United States on the possible release of two Malaysians currently detained in Guantanamo Bay.

While newly-appointed US Ambassador to Malaysia, Edgard D. Kagan, refused to elaborate, he said US authorities were in contact with their Malaysian counterparts.

“I don’t want to prejudge it as there are many complicated aspects to this, but we believe that we have a very effective partnership with the Malaysian government on this, and we will continue to work closely with them,” he said during a media roundtable at the ambassador’s residence here yesterday.

Kagan was asked whether there were any negotiations between the Home Minister and the United States over the matter.

The two Malaysians – Mohammed Farik Amin, 48, and Mohammed Nazir Lep, 47 – were captured in Thailand in 2003 but never faced trial until this year.

In late January, under a plea bargain, both men reached agreements with prosecutors at Guantanamo Bay to charges of being accessories to the 2002 terrorist attacks in Bali, where after a short trial, US military judge Lt Col Wesley A. Braun gave the duo a five-year jail sentence each.

Also, under the plea bargain, both will have to testify against Encep Nurjaman aka Hambali, the former leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah movement – an affiliate of Al-Qaeda – and the mastermind behind the 2002 Bali bombings.

Mohammed Farik and Mohammed Nazir could be freed by 2029 or earlier.

Both have been held in confinement in various Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) facilities in the United States since the summer of 2003, and in Guantanamo since 2006.

An exclusive email response provided to Bernama by one of the men’s lead counsel, Christine Funk, offered insights into the case and the ordeal her client had been through.

Funk represented Mohammed Farik, who is also known as “Inmate No 21” in the detention camp, located on Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in south-eastern Cuba.

When queried on the possibility of Mohammed Farik returning home, she said her client is cognisant of ongoing communications between his legal team and the Malaysian government regarding potential early repatriation.

Funk said over the past few years, Mohammed Farik has been granted limited communication privileges. He is now allowed four phone conversations annually with his family, each lasting 30 minutes.

Both Malaysian detainees continue to be held in seclusion from other prisoners as they serve their sentences. Upon their return, they may have to undergo rehabilitation as reported by some US media.
KUALA LUMPUR: Diplomatic talks are going on between Malaysia and the United States on the possible release of two Malaysians currently detained in Guantanamo Bay.