Montevideo, May 29 (IANS) Two of six former prisoners of the US Guantanamo Bay prison accepted by Uruguay as refugees will marry their Uruguayan girlfriends on June 6, sources close to the men confirmed to Spanish news agency Efe.
The men arrived in Uruguay in December.
Abd al Hadi Omar Mahmoud Faraj, 40, from Syria and Tunisian Abdul Bin Mohammed Ourgy, 50, will marry Muslim women at a mosque in Montevideo.
Other ex-prisoners are expected to witness the ceremonies.
“It will not be something very big, rather an intimate ceremony,” the sources said on Thursday, without giving details of the venue chosen for the reception following the religious ceremony.
Christian Mirza, a mediator appointed by the Uruguayan government told Efe that the change in marital status will not affect the $558 in financial aid the government has provided to each of the men.
On May 19, four ex-prisoners — including Faraj and Ourgy — ended a nearly month-long protest in front of the US embassy in Uruguay’s capital Montevideo, demanding they be provided with what was required “to lead a normal life as human beings” in Uruguay.
The men were held without charge for 13 years at the Guantanamo base.
While the US did not respond to their demands, the Uruguayan government is assisting with their re-settlement in Uruguay through an agreement with the UN high commissioner for refugees to provide financial and housing support to both men.
In addition, the Red Cross will manage the re-location of each refugee’s families from their countries of origin.
The refugees’ lawyer, Mauricio Pigola, said the grooms are renting houses in which to live with their new wives.
The six former prisoners were received by Uruguay in December as part of a commitment of then president Jose Mujica to assist US President Barack Obama with plans to close down the prison in Cuba.