Individuals stroll previous a guard tower exterior the fencing of Camp 5 on the the U.S. army’s jail in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Jan. 26, 2017.
Thomas Watkins/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
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Thomas Watkins/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
In essentially the most dramatic step in years to scale back the inhabitants on the U.S. army jail in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the Biden administration has transferred 11 Yemeni detainees to Oman, which has agreed to assist resettle them and supply safety monitoring.
All the males, who had been captured within the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terror assaults, had been held for greater than 20 years with out being charged or placed on trial. All of them had been permitted for switch by nationwide safety officers greater than two years in the past and typically lengthy earlier than that — one had been cleared for switch since 2010 — but had remained behind bars because of political and diplomatic components.
Their launch leaves simply 15 prisoners at Guantánamo, slicing the variety of inmates practically in half.
Monday’s transfers had been initially scheduled to occur in October 2023, however had been halted on the final minute because of considerations in Congress about instability within the Center East following the Hamas assault on Israel.
That the plan was resurrected throughout President Biden’s closing two weeks in workplace indicators a last-ditch effort by his administration to shrink Guantánamo’s prisoner inhabitants and get nearer to his objective of attempting to shut the power. In latest weeks, the U.S. has transferred 4 different Guantánamo inmates — a Kenyan, a Tunisian and two Malaysians — and is making ready for the switch of not less than yet another, an Iraqi.
That flurry of exercise is motivated by the idea that Guantánamo transfers could cease as soon as Donald Trump returns to the White Home. Trump beforehand vowed to maintain Guantánamo open and “load it up with some unhealthy dudes,” though he didn’t ship any prisoners there. Regardless of its late push, the Biden administration is unlikely to have the ability to shut Guantanamo’s jail and courtroom earlier than Trump takes workplace.
The switch of the 11 Yemenis was the results of prolonged and sophisticated diplomatic negotiations. That they had remained imprisoned regardless of being eligible for launch as a result of they had been legally prohibited from returning to Yemen, a failed state deemed extremely unstable. That meant the U.S. confronted the advanced problem of discovering one other nation or international locations to take them. Oman, a U.S. ally, has accepted not less than 30 different Guantánamo prisoners up to now.
In keeping with U.S. Protection Division information, all of the Yemeni males are former al-Qaeda members, though a lot of them dispute the U.S. accounts of their backgrounds. Earlier than arriving at Guantánamo between 2002 and 2004, a number of had been held at secret abroad CIA prisons often called black websites, the place torture was widespread.
Ultimately, the U.S. authorities decided they not posed a big sufficient menace to justify their continued imprisonment. Nonetheless, a number of of the transfers are contingent upon “sturdy” safety assurances from Oman, resembling monitoring, journey restrictions and “integration help.” Oman has stated it can assist the lads discover housing, jobs and different help methods aimed toward letting them rebuild their lives, and in some circumstances will reunite them with members of the family.
Three different Guantánamo inmates — a Libyan, a Somalian and a stateless Rohingya — have been permitted for switch however stay imprisoned. The Libyan and Somalian can’t be returned to their homelands as a result of these international locations, like Yemen, are on Congress’s no-transfer listing because of safety considerations, so the U.S. should discover different international locations by which to resettle them.
The Iraqi prisoner whose switch is within the works has pleaded responsible to struggle crimes expenses and the U.S. desires to ship him to a jail in Iraq. Nonetheless, the person lately filed a federal lawsuit searching for to cease his switch as a result of he says the Iraqi jail may topic him to abuse and insufficient medical care; he has a disabling backbone situation.
The U.S. jail and army courtroom at Guantánamo had been set as much as home and prosecute suspected international terrorists after the 9/11 assaults. The primary prisoners arrived in January 2002 and about 780 detainees ultimately handed via the power, most of them by no means charged but held for years. Guantánamo’s supporters say it’s a safety necessity. Critics name it an ethical stain on America.
Along with quelling human rights complaints, transferring prisoners to different international locations represents an enormous monetary financial savings to the U.S., which spends greater than a half-billion {dollars} a yr on Guantánamo’s courtroom and jail. Every inmate held there prices American taxpayers an estimated $15 million a yr, in comparison with about $80,000 yearly per inmate at a U.S. supermax facility.
Nonetheless, some members of Congress, each Republicans and Democrats, object to releasing Guantánamo prisoners on grounds that they could possibly be a safety threat, particularly with the continued upheaval within the Center East.
A State Division official instructed NPR that Monday’s switch “was the end result of years of diplomatic effort and it did advance the Biden-Harris administration’s objective of responsibly lowering the detainee inhabitants” at Guantánamo.
The 15 remaining prisoners are:
- seven males going through expenses, together with alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has agreed to a plea deal
- three uncharged males not permitted for switch
- three uncharged males permitted for switch however ready for the U.S. to search out international locations to take them
- two males who’ve been convicted
The 11 Yemeni males transferred Monday are:
1. Khaled Ahmed Qassim
captured: December 2001
arrived at Guantánamo: Could 2002
cleared for launch: July 2022
2. Uthman Abdul al-Rahim Muhammed Uthman
captured: December 2001
arrived at Guantánamo: January 2002
cleared for launch: Could 2021
3. Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi
captured: December 2001
arrived at Guantánamo: January 2002
cleared for launch: December 2021
4. Zuhail Abdo Anam Mentioned al-Sharabi
captured: February 2002
arrived at Guantánamo: Could 2002
cleared for launch: November 2021
5. Hani Saleh Rashid Abdullah
captured: September 2002
arrived at Guantánamo: October 2002
cleared for launch: October 2020
6. Omar Mohammed Ali al-Rammah (various title: Zakaria Al-Baidany)
captured: April 2002
arrived at Guantánamo: Could 2003
cleared for launch: December 2021
7. Tawfiq Nasir Ahmed al-Bihani
captured: late 2001 or early 2002
arrived at Guantánamo: February 2003
cleared for launch: 2010
8. Sanad Yislam al-Kazimi
captured: January 2003
arrived at Guantánamo: September 2004
cleared for launch: October 2021
9. Hassan Mohammed Ali Bin Attash
captured: September 2002
arrived at Guantánamo: September 2004
cleared for launch: April 2022
10. Abdu Ali al-Hajj Sharqawi
captured: February 2002
arrived at Guantánamo: September 2004
cleared for launch: June 2021
11. Abdulsalam al-Hela (various title: Abd al-Salam al-Hilah)
captured: September 2002
arrived at Guantánamo: September 2004
cleared for launch: June 2021
