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Uruguay: Ex-Gitmo detainee also tried to travel to Russia

FILE - In this May 5, 2015 file photo, Abu Wa'el Dhiab, from Syria, sits in front of the U.S. embassy while visiting former fellow detainees demanding financial assistance from the U.S., in Montevideo, Uruguay. Authorities reported on Monday, July 24, 2017, that Dhiab has returned to Uruguay after being deported from Morocco. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico, File) FILE - In this May 5, 2015 file photo, Abu Wa'el Dhiab, from Syria, sits in front of the U.S. embassy while visiting former fellow detainees demanding financial assistance from the U.S., in Montevideo, Uruguay. Authorities reported on Monday, July 24, 2017, that Dhiab has returned to Uruguay after being deported from Morocco. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico, File)

By Associated Press July 25, 2017 1 min read

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) – The government liaison for Guantanamo ex-detainees resettled in Uruguay says one of the men tried to travel to Russia recently in one of at least four attempts by him to leave the South American nation.

Christian Mirza says Syrian native Abu Wa’el Dhiab was not allowed to board the flight to Russia because he lacked an entry visa.

Mirza said Tuesday that Dhiab’s failed trip took place between an attempt to enter South Africa last December and his recent deportation from Morocco after arriving with a false passport.

The man also went missing for weeks last year before turning up in Venezuela.

Uruguay took in Dhiab along with five other former Gitmo prisoners in 2014, he. But he has gone on hunger strike to demand he be allowed to leave.