Amnesty International welcomed the move but said that Guantanamo would remain a “bright, lasting reflection” on human rights in the United States.
The United States has transferred 11 Yemeni detainees from the a Famous Guantanamo Bay detention center in Oman after being held for more than two decades without charge as part of Washington's “war on terror”.
“The United States appreciates the willingness of the government of Oman and other partners to support ongoing U.S. efforts focused on sensibly reducing the number of detainees and ultimately closing Guantanamo Bay facility,” the US Department of Defense said in a statement Monday evening.
The US-based Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) said among the 11 detainees transferred to Oman this week was Sharqawi al-Hajj, who had been on several hunger strikes. and hospitalized in Guantanamo to protest his subsequent 21 years in prison. two years of detention and torture by the CIA.
“Our thoughts are with Mr Al Hajj as he moves to the free world after nearly 23 years in captivity. His news is positive for him and for us,” said Pardiss Kebriaei, a lawyer at CCR who represents al-Hajj.
Only 15 detainees now reside at Guantanamo, down from a peak of nearly 800 following the al-Qaeda attacks on September 11, 2001 when then US President George W Bush established the prison camp Guantanamo to detain suspects indefinitely and without charge. and rejecting legal challenges to their retention.
Hundreds of mostly Muslim men have been seized from dozens of countries as part of the US's so-called “war on terror”, which has also included the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and operations hidden weapons elsewhere in the world.
The conditions at Guantanamo Bay and the treatment of detainees have prompted outrage from human rights groups and United Nations experts who have condemned the prison as a site of “unparalleled infamy”.
Welcoming the release of the 11th, Amnesty International said the “military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay is a clear, long-standing stain on the human rights record of the United States”.
Last month, the US authorities released several prisoners from Guantanamo, including a Tunisian national. Ridah bin Saleh al-Yazidi who had been in prison since it opened in 2002 without being charged. He was also released Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu who was arrested in Kenya in 2007, and two Malaysian men which was held for 18 years without charge.
Successive US administrations have been called upon to close Guantanamo or, at the very least, release all those detainees not charged with a crime. Outgoing President Joe Biden had promised before he was elected in 2020 to try to close Guantanamo, but he is still working just weeks before he leaves office.
Biden administration officials said they were working to identify eligible countries willing to take detainees from Guantanamo who have never been charged with a crime.
CCR said that of the 15 men still in Guantanamo, six are without charge and three of those have been cleared for removal from the United States.
The Defense Department said the other nine detainees include two who were convicted and sentenced, and seven who were charged in connection with the 2000 bombing of the Navy ship USS Cole as well as the September attacks. 11, 2001 and the 2002 bombings. the tourist island of Bali.
