US, Saudi still at odds over release of terror suspect Hamdi

WASHINGTON, Oct 4 (AFP) - The United States said Monday it had still not reached agreement with Saudi officials on terror suspect Yasser Esam Hamdi's release from US custody and return to Saudi Arabia despite lengthy talks aimed at easing Riyadh's concerns about the terms of his stay there.
"Discussions are still ongoing with the Saudis on modalities of repatriation and they have not concluded," deputy State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said.
The US-born Hamdi, who has spent nearly three years in isolation in US military custody after being captured in Afghanistan and labelled an "enemy combatant" for allegedly fighting with the Taliban, was to have been released and sent to Saudi Arabia last week under an agreement reached between his lawyers and the US Justice Department.
But Saudi authorities have balked at receiving him and expressed concern about the enforceability of certain provisions in the agreement which requires him to renounce his US citizenship and terrorism, imposes stringent restrictions on his travel and say he must report to the US embassy in Riyadh if he wants to leave the country.
Hamdi, who was born in the US state of Louisiana but later became a Saudi citizen, has not been charged with any crime and Saudi officials have questioned the legitimacy of the restrictions.
Last week, as a Thursday deadline for Hamdi's deportation to Saudi Arabia loomed, US officials said they expected to reach agreement on his release with Saudi authorities "soon" and denied there were any major snags.
That deadline has since passed, and on Monday, a senior State Department official hinted that Washington was losing patience with Riyadh's refusal to accept Hamdi, complaining that the Saudis had not raised specific objections to his repatriation.
"On the surface of it, there doesn't seem to be any issue that's holding things up, per se, but at the same time, we haven't yet gotten the Saudi green light," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
"There is no definite answer," the official said. "It's more a question of questions that we have endeavored to answer and we haven't gotten back any (response)."