The decision to label Murat Kurnaz a risk to Germany's national security and attempts to keep him from returning to Germany in late 2002 were justified, August Hanning, the former head of Germany's foreign intelligence service (BND) and current deputy minister in the interior ministry, told a parliamentary committee Thursday.

Hanning told the committee that while there was no clear evidence of Kurnaz posing a threat, "a number of indicators" as well as the "overall picture" presented by the circumstances of his detention led officials to classify him as a security risk.

"Pakistan is the preferred destination of terrorists," Hanning said, referring to one of the factors that went into the decision not to allow Kurnaz back into Germany.

During his own testimony on Thursday, current BND head Ernst Uhrlau, the former secret services coordinator, supported Hanning's evaluation of Kurnaz.

Peculiar spot for Quran study

"The Pakistani-Afghan border region is not the right spot for peaceful study of the Quran," Uhrlau said. Kurnaz has said he had traveled to Pakistan to study the Quran.

A Turkish national born in Bremen, Kurnaz was released from the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba in 2006 without being charged, after Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the issue with US President George W. Bush. Kurnaz was taken prisoner by American forces in Pakistan in 2001.

Hanning did not criticize the chancellor's decision to intervene for "humanitarian reasons" and told the inquiry panel that the circumstances of Kurnaz' imprisonment could be seen in a different light when Merkel intervened.

Did Germany do enough for Kurnaz?

As former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's chief of staff, Steinmeier was ultimately responsible for intelligence matters and the Kurnaz case has been a stone around his neck as media have reported that Germany refused to accept a US offer to release Kurnaz in 2002. Both Steinmeier and Kurnaz have said no such offer was ever put on the table.

Hanning told parliamentarians that Steinmeier was privy to all pertinent information concerning Kurnaz.

"All of the relevant facts were certainly presented," Hanning said of his meetings with Steinmeier. "My impression was that the intelligence service's collected knowledge was presented to him."

Steinmeier to testify in March

During his testimony Hanning also disputed the conclusions reached by intelligence service agents who, after interrogating him at Guantanamo Bay, said Kurnaz was taken prisoner for "being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Hanning called their conclusion "flawed and unprofessional" because it did not take into account information from the Bremen state interior ministry

The investigatory committee delayed hearing testimony from Steinmeier by a week, to March 29, after Bremen's interior ministry unexpectedly released documents needed for the inquiry. The panel will also hear from former Interior Minister Otto Schily on the same day.