Alleged Bali bombing figure Hambali will not be freed from Guantanamo, US says

A US government review board has rejected the release of the alleged Southeastern Asian terrorist leader known as Hambali from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The Periodic Review Board said in a short statement released Tuesday that Hambali continues to be a “significant threat to the security of the United States.” It came to the same conclusion in a separate decision on a prisoner from Somalia, Guleed Hassan Ahmed.

Hambali, whose real name is Encep Nurjaman, appeared before the board in August by video link seeking his release after being held 10 years at the base without charge. The Pentagon described him in a profile released ahead of the hearing as a leader of the Southeast Asia-based extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah.

The group is blamed for a string of bombings in Indonesia, including the 2002 bombings in Bali that killed 202 people, 11 of them Hong Kong residents. Hambali also is alleged to have had links to al-Qaeda.

The board, which was created by the Obama administration to help it winnow down the prison population at Guantanamo as part of a broader effort to close the detention centre, cited Hambali’s “significant role in major terrorist attacks,” as well as a failure to show remorse as factors in its decision.