The Pentagon introduced Monday that it has launched 11 Yemeni detainees with suspected ties to al Qaeda from the Guantanamo Bay army jail in Cuba.
The detainees, none of whom have been charged with a criminal offense, will likely be resettled in Oman because the Biden administration strikes to wind down operations on the infamous detention facility.
“Though completely different processes, every of the ten Yemeni detainees underwent a radical, interagency evaluation by profession professionals who unanimously decided all detainees as switch eligible in step with the nationwide safety pursuits of america,” the Division of Protection mentioned in a assertion.
The Pentagon famous that Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin notified Congress in 2023 of his intent to repatriate the 11 Yemeni detainees to Oman.
“The US appreciates the willingness of the Authorities of Oman and different companions to assist ongoing U.S. efforts targeted on responsibly decreasing the detainee inhabitants and in the end closing the Guantanamo Bay facility,” the DoD mentioned.
Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi, an alleged al Qaeda fighter and bodyguard for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, was one of many 11 males launched.
An unclassified 2016 US intelligence file on al-Alwi warns that as a GITMO detainee he “has made a number of statements since early 2016 that counsel he maintains an extremist mindset.”
The file additionally notes that al-Alwi has dedicated plenty of disciplinary infractions whereas in detention that have been “pardoned” as a part of an “incentive for detainees to enhance their conduct.”
Suhayl Abdul Anam al Sharabi, one other alleged bin Laden bodyguard, was additionally launched.
Al Sharabi’s 2020 intelligence file notes that he “might have been related to an aborted 9/11-style hijacking plot in Southwest Asia” as a member of al Qaeda.
The 9 others being launched to Oman are: Uthman Abd al-Rahim Muhammad Uthman, Khalid Ahmed Qassim, 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.
The newest batch of transfers follows the Pentagon’s December announcement that detainee Ridah Bin Saleh al-Yazidi had been resettled in Tunisia.
Fifteen detainees stay on the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, of whom three are eligible for switch and three are eligible to have their detention standing reviewed, in keeping with the Pentagon.
One other seven inmates are concerned within the army commissions course of and two others have been convicted and sentenced by army commissions.
The Biden administration provided plea offers final 12 months to alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and co-conspirators Walid Bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi. All three males have been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2003.
The offers, slammed by 9/11 households, Republican lawmakers and the protection secretary, will spare the alleged terrorists the dying penalty.
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