Two former Guantanamo prisoners released in Russia

Two Russian citizens formerly held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were released from custody on Friday after investigators found no evidence of their involvement in terrorism-related activity, prosecutors said.

Airat Vakhitov and Rustam Akhmyarov were released from jail in the Volga river city of Naberezhnye Chelny, said Ildar Mukhamedzhanov, spokesman for prosecutors in Tatarstan, the region where the city is located.

The two men, who have become vocal critics of alleged prison abuses at Guantanamo, were detained in Moscow on Saturday on suspicion of involvement in terrorist attacks. Mukhamedzhanov said prosecutors found no evidence to support that.

Vakhitov and Akhmyarov are among seven Russian men who were released from Guantanamo last year and returned to Russia, where they were briefly held in jail and set free.

Guantanamo holds 520 prisoners; more than 230 others have been released or transferred to the custody of their home governments. Most were captured during the U.S. war in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, reports the AP.