MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ex Guantanamo Diyab could be in Brazil, but he “is not infringing the law or on the run”

Diyab is believe to be in the Uruguay-Brazil border twin cities which has a long resident Middle East population

Jihad Ahmad Diyab, the ex Guantanamo Syrian inmate which was liberated and given refuge in Uruguay, and apparently recently crossed the border to neighboring Brazil “has not infringed any law” and is “not on the run”, according to Christian Mirza who acts as a link between the Uruguayan government and the ex Guantanamo prisoners accepted by Uruguay at the end of 2014.

 Last Thursday the United States Lower House foreign affairs committee debated the issue of the alleged disappearance of Diyab with Republicans seriously criticizing the Obama administration for its Guantanamo policy and Uruguay for lacking the elements of keeping track of the ex Guantanamo prisoners.

The issue was later addressed with the State and Defense departments, fearing that the Syrian could have crossed into Brazil and could be involved in the planning of terrorist attacks against the US or in Brazil during the coming Rio Olympic Games.

However Egyptian born, Arab speaking psychologist Mirza and who has close contacts with the ex prisoners insisted, “He's not infringing any law, be it Uruguayan or any other legislation, he is not a fugitive. He has the temporary documents to move around”

As to where Diyab actually is, Mirza said he has no official confirmation but the last piece of news is that “in effect he was in the border area with Brazil, with friends in a kind of spiritual seclusion in the framework of the Ramadan month”. Apparently Diyab anticipated he would be back in Montevideo a couple of weeks after Ramadan was over.

Mirza added that there “is no way they can describe him as a terrorist: there's an official document from the US State Department saying Diyab and the other prisoners were not involved in terrorist activities and did not constitute or represent a risk”.

Besides, Diyab as a consequence of his imprisonment conditions normally has to move around with crouches, and in effect in the border twin towns, Rivera (Uruguay), Livramento (Brazil), there is a considerable long established Middle East population and several mosques.

Mirza also warned that Diyab could begin legal actions against an airline which released in Brazil a communiqué with his picture for staff and passengers to identify and notify any suspects to the Brazilian authorities.

Four Syrians, a Tunisian and a Palestine inmates were received by Uruguay in December 2014, as part of an understanding between ex president Jose Mujica and president Obama to help empty the Guantanamo prison.

The news in Uruguay was received with surprise and suspicion but Mujica strongly defended helping the prisoners rebuild their lives, “it´s a matter of dignity and humanity”, as well as collaborating with Obama (“a good man”) and his promise to close the allegedly terrorist suspects-packed Guantanamo by the end of his eight-year mandate.