SYDNEY, Australia - Australian Mamdouh Habib returned to his hometown of Sydney on Friday, freed from detention at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay more than three years after his arrest in Pakistan on suspicion of terrorism.
The 48-year-old Egyptian-born former Sydney coffee shop owner stepped down from a chartered Gulfstream G-550 jet with an American flag on its tail, walking behind his U.S. lawyer Joe Margulies.
Habib's wife and four children were to meet him at an undisclosed location, Attorney General Philip Ruddock said.
Habib was captured near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border three weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
During his three years in custody, Habib allegedly confessed to knowing about the Sept. 11 plot in advance and said he had helped train some of the hijackers in martial arts.
The United States agreed to release Habib on condition that Australia took steps to prevent him from taking part in terrorist activities. Ruddock said Habib's ability to travel outside Australia would be restricted, but in a statement, Ruddock and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said it was unlikely Habib would be charged.
