The USA has repatriated Ridah Bin Saleh al-Yazidi, a Tunisian detainee held at Guantanamo Bay, to Tunisia, the Pentagon confirmed on Monday.
This marks the fourth detainee transferred out of the army jail in December 2024.
Al-Yazidi, 59, was cleared for switch after a “rigorous interagency assessment course of,” in keeping with an announcement from the US Division of Protection. He had been detained at Guantanamo since its opening on January 11, 2002, with out ever being charged with a criminal offense.
In January 2024, Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin notified Congress of the plan to repatriate al-Yazidi. The detainee was accused in 2007 by US army assessments of being a member of the militant group al Qaeda.
Nonetheless, human rights organizations have questioned the reliability of those assessments. Al-Yazidi had been cleared for switch since 2007, beneath each the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, however had remained on the facility for over a decade as a consequence of delays in his launch.
The repatriation is a part of President Joe Biden’s broader effort to shut the Guantanamo Bay detention middle, although progress has been sluggish.
Firstly of the Biden administration, the ability held round 40 detainees. As of now, 26 detainees stay at Guantanamo Bay, with 14 deemed eligible for switch.
Earlier in December, the US transferred Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu, who had been held since 2007 with out cost, to Kenya.
Two detainees, Mohammed Farik bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir bin Lep, have been repatriated to Malaysia. Each males had pleaded responsible to conflict crimes associated to assaults carried out by an al-Qaeda affiliate in Southeast Asia within the early 2000s.
The Guantanamo Bay detention middle, opened in 2002, was initially meant for the interrogation of suspects within the conflict on terror. Through the years, nevertheless, it has grow to be an emblem of human rights issues, with detainees being held indefinitely with out trial.
Regardless of guarantees from a number of US presidents to shut the ability, it stays operational, with ongoing efforts to switch detainees or convey instances to trial.
The closure of Guantanamo Bay has confronted important political and authorized challenges. Whereas President Obama made the closure a marketing campaign precedence, it was not achieved throughout his two phrases. Below President Donald Trump, an government order was signed in 2018 to maintain the ability open.
The Biden administration continues to switch detainees, however closing Guantanamo stays a posh challenge, balancing nationwide safety issues and human rights advocacy.