One of French citizens released from Guantanamo freed

PARIS - One of the three French citizens handed over to France this week by the United States after being held at its Guantanamo naval base in Cuba was freed Wednesday by French authorities, his lawyer said.
Mustaq Ali Patel was released after being held by French authorities for 48 hours and met with his family, his lawyer William Bourdon said.
The detention of Ridouane Khalid and Khaled Ben Mustafa was due to have been extended on Wednesday evening, a law enforcement source told AFP.
The case of Patel, who is aged about 40, and was born in India had posed legal problems for France, until he was officially granted French nationality through his marriage to a woman from La Reunion, experts have said.
Patel, who was said by police sources to have suffered psychological trauma during his detention, was reported to have been an imam at a French mosque and has family in Britain.
He had lived in Afghanistan for many years before his arrest in 2001.
Law enforcement sources have said Patel has not figured in any investigations into terrorism.

03/09/2005 20:31 GMT