ANKARA - A 24-year-old Turkish man who spent over three years in the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on suspicion of being an Al-Qaeda member was released and flown back to Turkey on Tuesday, the Anatolia news agency reported.
Salih Uyar was flown to the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey and handed over to Turkish police after spending three years and four months at Guantanamo, the agency said.
After questioning by police, he was set free by a local prosecutor for lack of incriminating evidence, but was ordered to be handed over to the Turkish military for having dodged compulsory military service.
The young man, sporting a long beard and dressed in a dark coat, refused to answer questions from reporters.
Uyar, who was arrested in Afghanistan, was one of three Turkish citizens held at Guantanamo.
The United States has used the facility to hold people indefinitely without trial or access to lawyers.
04/19/2005 14:28 GMT