Saudi Arabia's terrorist rehab actually 'secret radicalisation programme,' Guantanamo prisoner claims

INDEPENDENT

'This is in a cause of a king. This is not a true jihad'

• Samuel Osborne
• @SamuelOsborne93

The Independent Online

Accused al-Qaeda bomb-maker Ghassan Abdullah al-Sharbi is one of 61 terror suspects still being held in Guantanamo Bay John Moore/Getty Images

Saudi Arabia's terrorist rehabilitation centre is actually a "hidden radicalisation programme," an accused al-Qaeda bomb-maker detained at Guantanamo Bay has claimed.
Saudi prisoner Ghassan Abdullah al-Sharbi told a Gitmo parole board: “You guys want to send me back to Saudi Arabia because you believe there is a de-radicalisation programme on the surface, true.
"You are 100 per cent right, there is a strong de-radicalisation programme, but make no mistake, underneath there is a hidden radicalisation programme."
Al-Sharbi made the comments to the Periodic Review Board, which assesses whether Guantanamo prisoners can be released, in June, according to recently declassified documents.

The Prince Mohammed Bin Naif Counselling and Care Centre in Riyadh aims to de-radicalise jihadists through a 12-step programme, which is said to help them reintegrate with society.
Activities include art therapy and sports, and detainees have access to psychologists and religious scholars who teach religion with a focus on rejecting violence, the Wall Street Journal reports.
However, al-Sharbi has claimed the centre is actually a front to train jihadists to "fight under their cloak - under the royal Saudi cloak, under the religious establishment cloak".
He added: "They want it all like whenever they choose the time, they choose the location, and as a Muslim I see that no, this is not in the cuase of Allah.
"This is in a cause of a king. This is not a true jihad."

They'll tell you 'okay, go fight in Yemen. Go fight in Syria,' and I will have no choice' al-Sharbi says (AP)

Later, he claims: "They [Saudi Arabia] are poking their nose here and here and there and they're recruiting more jihadists.
"They'll tell you 'okay, go fight in Yemen. Go fight in Syria,' and I will have no choice."
Al-Sharbi is one of 61 terror suspects still being held in Guantanamo Bay.
The Prince Mohammed Bin Naif Counselling and Care Centre in Riyadh aims to de-radicalise jihadists through a 12-step programme, which is said to help them reintegrate with society.
Activities include art therapy and sports, and detainees have access to psychologists and religious scholars who teach religion with a focus on rejecting violence, the Wall Street Journal reports.
However, al-Sharbi has claimed the centre is actually a front to train jihadists to "fight under their cloak - under the royal Saudi cloak, under the religious establishment cloak".
He added: "They want it all like whenever they choose the time, they choose the location, and as a Muslim I see that no, this is not in the cuase of Allah.
"This is in a cause of a king. This is not a true jihad."

Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-terrorist-rehab-secret-hidden-radicalisation-programme-guantanamo-prisoner-claim-a7449191.html