Their move, the single largest removal of detainees by the Obama administration, was part of efforts by the U.S. to reduce the number of detainees held in the Cuban detention centre, which president Barack Obama had vowed to close before he leaves office.
Advertisement
The transfer of the 15 detainees – 12 Yemeni and 3 Afghan citizens – brought the total number of prisoners in Guantanamo, which accommodated almost 800 in 2002, down to 61, EFE news reported.
Al-Adahi, Al-Mudafari, Al-Busi, Sulayman, Kazaz and Muhajari were all approved for transfer almost six years ago by the six departments and agencies that since 2009 have reviewed the cases of the remaining Guantanamo detainees. They had been held in Guantanamo without charges, some of them for more than fourteen years.
Amnesty International USA, a rights group, welcomed the announcement as a sign US President Barack Obama was serious about closing the controversial jail before he leaves office.
After taking office in 2009, Obama vowed to close down the prison but has been met with resistance from congress which has made his goal hard to accomplish.
The transfer of the 12 Yemeni and three Afghan citizens brings the total number of detainees down to 61 at the USA naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The UAE has now taken in a total of 20 prisoners for resettlement – the same as Oman, which also has taken 20 to exceed other countries in accepting nonnative Guantanamo inmates.
Since Ayotte says the Defense Department gave her this information, wouldn’t it stand to reason that Obama knew they were high risk, but released them anyway? Of the prisoners transferred, 12 were Yemeni nationals and three were Afghans.
Even as the administration accelerates the transfers, it still faces the thorny problem of figuring out what to do with prisoners that can not be sent to other countries. A consensus was reached on the other nine detainees by the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, and State; the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The release of these prisoners in the UAE is possible thanks to US diplomatic relations with the Arabic country. Guantanamo Bay detainees are not allowed to be transferred to US prisons, now officials must scramble to find overseas facilities willing to accept them.
Advertisement
The majority of Guantanamo prisoners already approved for transfer hail from Yemen, but the USA has had a policy against transferring detainees to Yemen due to the ongoing instability there. In clearing him for transfer, the review board said he hasn’t expressed any anti-US sentiment or intent to re-engage in militant activities. The administration of George W Bush opened a prison there to hold terror suspects.
