US transfers 11 Yemeni detainees from Guantanamo Bay prison to Oman. human rights news
Amnesty International welcomed the transfer but said Guantanamo would remain a ‘horrible, long-lasting stain’ on human rights in the US.
The United States has transferred 11 Yemeni detainees held without charge for more than two decades from its notorious Guantanamo Bay detention center to Oman as part of Washington’s so-called “war on terrorism.”
“The United States calls on the Government of Oman and others to support ongoing U.S. efforts focused on responsibly reducing the number of detainees and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility,” the U.S. Department of Defense said in a statement Monday evening. Appreciates the partners’ wishes.”
The US-based Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) said one of the 11 detainees transferred to Oman this week was Sharqawi al-Hajj, who has led repeated hunger strikes and hospitalizations at Guantanamo in protest against his 21-year prison sentence. Was admitted, who came later. Two years of detention and torture by the CIA.
“Our thoughts are with Mr. Al Hajj as he enters the free world after nearly 23 years in prison. His release is promising for him and us,” said Pardis Kebriai, a lawyer for the CCR who represents al-Hajj.
There are now only 15 detainees left at Guantanamo, down from the maximum number of about 800 following the al-Qaeda attacks on September 11, 2001, when then-US President George W. Bush authorized the detention of suspects indefinitely and without charge. Guantanamo prison camp was established for. and rejecting legal challenges to their detention.
Hundreds of Muslim men were captured from dozens of countries as part of America’s so-called “war on terrorism”, which also included the US attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq and covert military operations elsewhere around the world.
Conditions at Guantanamo Bay and the treatment of detainees have long drawn outrage from human rights groups and United Nations experts, who have condemned the prison as a place of “unparalleled infamy”.
Welcoming the release of the 11, Amnesty International said that “the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay is a horrific, long-term stain on the human rights record of the United States”.
In the past month, US officials have released several prisoners from Guantanamo, including Tunisian national Ridah bin Saleh al-Yazidi, who had been held without charge since the prison opened in 2002. Also released were Mohammed Abdul Malik Bazabu, who was arrested in Kenya in 2007, and two Malaysians who had been detained without charge for 18 years.
Successive US administrations were called upon to close Guantanamo or at least release all detainees who were never accused of any crime. Outgoing President Joe Biden promised to try to close Guantanamo before his election in 2020, but it remains operational just weeks before he leaves office.
Biden administration officials said they were working to identify suitable countries willing to take detainees from Guantanamo who have never been charged with any crimes.
The CCR said six of the 15 remaining at Guantanamo have not been charged and three of them have been cleared for transfer to the United States.
The Defense Department said the nine other detainees include two who have been convicted and sentenced, and seven who have been sentenced for the bombing of the USS Cole naval ship in 2000, as well as the September 11, 2001 attacks and the 2002 bombings. Allegations have been made in this regard. Resort island of Bali.
