THE HAGUE (AFP)
The United States must apologize for the wrongful arrest on terror charges of two Yemenis on Dutch soil and investigate how such a "mistake" was made, Yemen's ambassador to The Hague said Thursday.
"Our government should ... receive a letter from the U.S. government to say: 'We are sorry that this has happened'. An apology," ambassador Nageeb Ahmed Obeid told AFP, claiming the events have tarnished Yemen's image.
"And they should investigate their officials who made this mistake."
Two Yemenis, who the ambassador confirmed were Ahmed Mohammed Nasser al-Soofi and Hezam al-Murisi, were freed by Dutch authorities late Wednesday following their arrest in Amsterdam on Monday "on suspicion of possible involvement in the planning of a terrorist act," according to prosecutors.
Dutch officials said they had acted "on the basis of information provided by the U.S. authorities."
American security had spotted suspicious-looking items, including a mobile phone taped to a plastic bottle, in Soofi's luggage which was on a plane bound for Washington Dulles airport while he was on a flight to Amsterdam.
But further investigations in the Netherlands and the United States yielded no evidence of wrongdoing.
Obeid said the two men should be entitled to damages for loss of reputation, but could not say whether any claim would be pursued.
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