[JURIST] The Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared Wednesday that Kenya’s government is attempting to secure the release of Kenyan native Mohammed Abdumalik, who is currently detained at Guantanamo Bay. The news was revealed in a letter to Abdulmalik’s family, informing them that the government will ask the United States to release the detainee. Abdulmalik’s family filed a $30 million lawsuit against the Kenyan government last year, claiming that Abdulmalik was illegally detained, tortured, and rendered to US authorities.
Abdulmalik was originally arrested by the Kenyan Anti-terrorism Police Unit in Mombasa in 2007 in connection with the 2002 bombing of a resort hotel and a failed attempt to shoot down an Israeli charter plane. He was then taken into US custody and eventually transferred to Guantanamo where he allegedly confessed to the crimes, although his Combatant Status Review Tribunal report is still classified. British human rights group Reprieve, which has helped Abdulmalik’s family, stated that the case points out the illegal means by which detainees have ended up in Guantanamo. Kenyan authorities deny arresting Abdulmalik, whom they claim is not a Kenyan citizen, and handing him over to the US military.