Guantanamo man arrested at Spain's request

LONDON - A British resident freed from the U.S. Guantanamo Bay prison for suspected terrorists was arrested in connection with a Spanish extradition request on Thursday hours after returning to Britain, police said.

A police spokesman identified the man as 45-year-old Jordanian Jamil el-Banna. "He is being held on a European arrest warrant alleging terrorist related offences that was issued on behalf of the Spanish authorities," said the spokesman.

Police said Banna would appear before a London court later on Thursday. No other details were immediately available.

Banna was taken to Guantanamo Bay after being arrested at an airport in the West African country of Gambia in November 2002.

He and two other inmates from Guantanamo Bay, Libyan Omar Deghayes, 37, and Algerian Abdennour Sameur, 33, arrived in Britain on Wednesday after more than four years in captivity.

Deghayes and Sameur were arrested shortly before landing at an airport north of London under the Terrorism Act on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism and taken to a police station for questioning.

The two were seized in Pakistan after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, although specifics of exactly why and when they were detained are not clear.

The three men were accompanied by a doctor and put under escort by counter-terrorism police during the flight back to Britain, their lawyers said.

Their release from Guantanamo Bay followed campaigning by their families.

The United States has described the men as dangerous.

Having previously declined to seek the release of non-British nationals, the British government changed its stance in August and asked Washington to free five British residents held at Guantanamo Bay.

Earlier this month, the United States agreed to free Banna, Deghayes and Sameur but rejected a plea on behalf of another man and is still in talks over the fifth.

Washington did not say why it had decided to comply with Britain's request but has come under fierce international criticism for its detention policies at Guantanamo Bay.

On Wednesday, the Home Office said the men's return to Britain did not necessarily mean they would remain in the country.

"(This) does not imply commitment on our part that they can remain permanently in the United Kingdom. Their immigration status will now be reviewed," a Home Office spokeswoman said.