With the latest departures, there are now 89 prisoners at the US naval base in Guantanamo. “Now of course, Congress’ position is rather ironic, because there are already dozens of convicted terrorists that are currently serving prison time in the United States, on USA soil, in U.S. prisons”, Earnest said. The proposal continues to be opposed by Congress.
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Their release comes as President Barack Obama tries to reduce the Guantanamo population and eventually close the prison.
“The US is very grateful to our partner, the Republic of Senegal, for offering humanitarian resettlement to two individuals formerly in Department of Defense custody at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba detention facility”, Secretary of State John Kerry said.
The two, Omar Khalifa Mohammed Abu Bakr and Salem Abdul Salem Ghereby had been detained without charge for 14 years.
Critics of Guantanamo have called men such as Umar “forever” detainees, because the Obama administration (like the Bush administration) determined it has the right under the laws of war to hold them indefinitely without trial.
Republican presidential candidates have vowed that, if elected, they would send more terror suspects to Guantanamo instead of closing it.
They were among a group of prisoners, now numbering 35 following their departure, who have been cleared for transfer by USA government review panels. And it continues an effort to find homes in third countries for detainees from trouble spots like Libya, Syria and Yemen – where the United States won’t return detainees either because of humanitarian or security concerns. They were captured separately in Pakistan and held at Guantanamo since 2002. Gary Ross said Tuesday the Defense Department would not disclose how much, if anything, the Obama administration was paying the Senegalese government to resettle the two men. US law bars such transfers to the mainland, and Obama has not ruled out doing so by use of executive action.
The most prominent of those to be resettled over the next several weeks is Tariq Bah Odah, a 37-year-old Yemeni on a long-term hunger strike.
However, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb offshoot Al-Qaeda in the Unity and Jihad is active in Senegal.
The PRB acknowledged Umar’s “past terrorist-related activities and connections”, but found that the “risk” he “presents” could be mitigated by his “significantly compromised health condition”, his “record of compliance” within Guantanamo, and his “recent engagement with his family illustrating his intent to move forward in a positive manner”. A sixth detainee who was recommended for prosecution by the Guantanamo task force was also released due to the recommendation of the periodic review board.
Guantanamo prisoners were rounded up overseas when the United States lead an invasion into Iraq and Afghanistan following the September 11 2001 attacks on NY and Washington.
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