After a special prison was built for the five long-term prisoners held on security certificates, four were released on bail and house arrest terms, leaving Almrei as the sole occupant of the prison which continued to operate at a cost of $2.6 million annually to house Almrei alone. He was ordered released under house arrest by a Federal Court judge on January 2, 2009. On December 14, 2009, he was further released and not considered a suspect anymore. The evidence against him was based on informants' tips, wiretaps, and his admission of travel to places like Afghanistan and Pakistan. The case against him was based on outdated and sketchy knowledge of Al Qaeda and other extremist Islamic groups, and loaded with information that "could only be construed as unfavourable to Almrei without any serious attempt to include information to the contrary."