A QATARI citizen, who was a former inmate at the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, returned to Doha yesterday morning upon his release.
Jaralla Saleh Kahla al-Marri was detained in Afghanistan in 2001 and had been held at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay, since then. No condemning evidence was produced against him nor was he sent to any trial.
Expressing their appreciation for the efforts made by the government to secure Jaralla’s release, his family appealed to HH the Emir to continue his work for the release of his brother, Ali Saleh Kahla al-Marri, who is still in US detention.
“Both my cousins were arrested on the same charges and there was no evidence against them. I hope that he (Ali) would be also released soon. His five children are waiting for their father,” Faisal al-Marri, the cousin of both Jarrallah and Ali, was quoted as saying to the Arrayah daily yesterday.
“My happiness will remain incomplete until my second son Ali also returns to his home and family. I am very grateful to Allah for his blessings,” their grieved mother said.
British airline executive detained in Doha
A former British Airways executive has been on bail for two months in Qatar after he was detained in solitary confinement for 25 days, it has been alleged.
Ian Heywood, 47, who had worked for BA for 26 years, joined Qatar Airways in May last year as vice-president of global sales and distribution, according to the London-based Daily Mail.
It is understood that Heywood had been headhunted by British airline BMI to be commercial director.
His MP, Philip Hammond, told the Daily Mail: “This all started with a commercial dispute that probably has something to do with him leaving Qatar Airways. The next thing, he was being accused of taking secret information from Qatar Airways with him.”
The British Foreign and Common-wealth Office in a statement to the Daily Mail said: “The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Prime Minister’s Office are both aware of the case and have been in discussion.”
Heywood had been travelling to Bahrain with colleagues for a weekend break when he was stopped by police from boarding a flight at Doha airport on May 1. The married father of two is free on bail but cannot leave Qatar until prosecutors decide whether or not to charge him, the newspaper added.
A Qatar Airways spokesman said last night that Heywood no longer worked for the company and would not comment on the story. |
