WASHINGTON. Jan 07/TheStraitsTimes/ – The Biden administration has significantly reduced the prisoner population at the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba, transferring 11 detainees to Oman on Monday. This move leaves only 15 detainees remaining at the facility, following a major push towards closing it in the administration’s final days in office.
The detention center, opened on January 11, 2002, by President George W. Bush, was initially established to hold terrorism suspects and “illegal enemy combatants” during the U.S. “War on Terror” following the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. At its peak in 2003, Guantanamo Bay housed approximately 680 prisoners, according to Pentagon data.
The latest transfer of the 11 men, all from Yemen, means the U.S. naval base in Cuba now holds fewer detainees than when it first opened with the arrival of prisoners from Afghanistan.
“The United States appreciates the willingness of the government of Oman and other partners to support ongoing U.S. efforts focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility,” the U.S. military said in a statement.
Pentagon Announces Transfer of 11 Guantanamo Detainees
The Pentagon announced the transfer of 11 detainees from Guantanamo Bay, naming them as: Uthman Abd al-Rahim Muhammad Uthman, Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi, Khalid Ahmed Qassim, Suhayl Abdul Anam al Sharabi, Hani Saleh Rashid Abdullah, Tawfiq Nasir Awad Al-Bihani, Omar Mohammed Ali al-Rammah, Sanad Ali Yislam Al Kazimi, Hassan Muhammad Ali Bib Attash, Sharqawi Abdu Ali Al Hajj, and Abd Al-Salam Al-Hilah.
Following this transfer, 15 detainees remain at the facility. The Pentagon stated that three of the remaining detainees are eligible for transfer, and an equal number are eligible for a periodic review board to examine their cases. The rest have been charged or convicted of war crimes.
The Guantanamo Bay facility has faced longstanding criticism from human rights groups and legal advocates over potential breaches of international human rights laws and the conditions at the camp.
