THREE FORMER "ALGERIAN 6" DETAINEES RETURN TO

S E C R E T SARAJEVO 001873 NOFORN SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR S/WCI (WILLIAMSON/RICCI/VIBUL-JOLLES),EUR (JONES),AND EUR/SCE (SILBERSTEIN/FOOKS/STINCHCOMB) E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2018 TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL PTER BK SUBJECT: THREE FORMER "ALGERIAN 6" DETAINEES RETURN TO BOSNIA REF: SARAJEVO 1836 Classified By: Ambassador Charles English for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) (S/NF) Three of the "Algeria Six" group of detainees (Mohamed Nechla, Al-Haj Boudella, and Mustafa Ait Idir) returned today to Bosnia from Guantanamo. The military flight with the three former detainees arrived around 1745 local time, and the three were transferred to the custody of the Bosnian government shortly thereafter. The state-level police agency (State Investigation and Protection Agency--SIPA) and the Border Police (BP) took the lead for the Bosnian government in the transfer. Amer Hadzimahmutovic, Chief of the Anti-Terrorism Unit for SIPA, signed the agreement transferring custody. We were told that the three former detainees would be interviewed at SIPA headquarters, given identification papers, and then freed from custody to rejoin family or acquaintances in Bosnia. The Bosnian government has arranged for surveillance of the former detainees. Journalists were present at the airport, but were kept far from the landing zone where the transfer took place. It is unlikely that they were able to photograph the transfer itself, though they probably photographed the vans with the former detainees as they left the airport for SIPA headquarters. ENGLISH