Kabul, Afghanistan ? Seventeen Afghans came home Tuesday in one of the biggest known releases from the U.S. jail at Guantanamo Bay, and one quickly accused the U.S. military of abusing him despite warnings from a senior Afghan official to keep quiet about any complaints.

A Turk suspected of ties to al-Qaida also was freed from Guantanamo and sent back to Turkey.

The releases lowered the number of detainees classified as “enemy combatants” at the U.S. Navy base on the tip of Cuba to about 520 from about 40 countries, a Pentagon spokesman, Maj. Michael Shavers, said.

The detention center has drawn strong international criticism, and U.S. court rulings have chipped away Bush administration rules that denied the prisoners many legal safeguards. Some freed detainees have charged they were mistreated and tortured, and multiple investigations are looking into abuses at detention camps in Guantanamo and Afghanistan.

The detainees include suspected Taliban and al-Qaida members captured during the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the repressive Taliban government in late 2001.

Shavers said the 17 Afghans and the Turk were cleared of suspicions of terrorist links during a tribunal review process that ended recently. Five others cleared in late March already were sent home, and 15 more are awaiting transfers.

“We’re always looking at opportunities to transfer additional individuals,” Shavers said when asked whether more releases were expected.

One detainee, Abdul Rahman, said he had been abused during 3 1/2 years in detention, although he would not elaborate.

“There was a lot of bad treatment against us, but this is not the time to tell you,” Rahman said. “Everybody in the world knows what kind of jail it is. I can’t talk about it now.”