On Monday, US President Joe Biden’s administration cut the prison population at Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay detention center by nearly half, sending 11 detainees to Oman.
The U.S. military said only 15 detainees remained there after the transfer, following a major push to close the facility by the Biden administration during its final days in office.
The detention center was first opened on January 11, 2002, by President George W. Bush to detain terrorism suspects and “unlawful enemy combatants” during the U.S. “war on terror” that followed the terrorist attacks. September 11, 2001 in New York and Washington.
Guantanamo Bay housed about 680 prisoners at the detention center’s peak in 2003, according to Pentagon data.
The latest transfer of the 11 men, all from Yemen, leaves the U.S. naval base in Cuba with fewer detainees than when it 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 to responsibly reduce the detained population and ultimately close the Guantanamo Bay facility,” it said. the American army in a press release.
The Pentagon named the 11 transferred men as follows: 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.
Of the remaining 15 detainees, the Pentagon said three were eligible for transfer and an equal number were eligible for a periodic review board to review their cases. The others were charged or convicted of war crimes.
The facility has long been criticized by human rights groups and lawyers due to potential violations of international human rights laws and living conditions in the camp.