August 29, 2006
Murat Kurnaz Released
Murat Kurnaz was released from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on August 24, at the request of German government, Washington Post reported on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Kurnaz was detained in October 2001 and spent more than four years in Guantanamo. Initially, Gerhard Schroeder's government had refused to intercede on Kurnaz's behalf because he did not have German citizenship. But in January Chancellor Schroeder's successor, Angela Merkel, began to negotiate for Kurnaz's release with President Bush. By early 2002, U.S. military intelligence and German law enforcement authorities had concluded there was no information linking Kurnaz to al-Qaeda or terrorist activities. In January 2005, U.S. District Judge Joyce Hens Green ruled that his detention was illegal. Despite these findings, Kurnaz was tortured during his detention and kept shackled and blindfolded until his flight landed in Germany. He will not be detained, investigated, or charged in Germany and is now a free man.
February 11, 2006
DoD Announces Latest Detainee Transfer and Release
As a result of Administrative Review Board decisions - an ongoing process established to review the status of detainees - the Pentagon announced it has transferred 4 detainees from the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including 3 detainees to Morocco and 1 detainee to Uganda.
Additionally, 7 detainees have been released and repatriated to Afghanistan. As the Washington Post reports, Pentagon spokesman Cmdr. J.D. Gordon said the intent of the arrangement is to shift the responsibility for holding enemy combatants from the United States to other nations.
February 10, 2006
Administrative Review Board Decisions Completed
In a press release posted to its website, the Department of Defense announced it has completed the first round of Administrative Review Board (ARB) decisions. Conducted from December 14, 2004 to December 23, 2005, the annual review process - established to assess whether those picked up in the War on Terror and detained at Guantanamo continue to pose a threat to the United States or its allies - resulted in 14 releases and 120 transfers; 329 detainees will continue to be held.
November 06, 2005
4 Detainees Depart Gitmo
In a press release posted to its website, the Department of Defense announced four detainees have departed the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The latest transfer includes the release of one detainee to Saudi Arabia, and the transfer of three detainees to Bahrain.
For operational and security purposes, the names of the released and transferred have not been disclosed.
The latest transfer increases the number of detainees who have departed the US naval base in Cuba to 256.
November 03, 2005
5 Detainees Depart Guantanamo
In a release posted to its website, the Department of Defense announced the transfer of five detainees from the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Kuwait.
For security purposes, neither the names nor the identities of those transferred have been disclosed.
The latest transfer raises the number of detainees who have departed Guantanamo to 252. Approximately 500 detainees remain at the prison facility.
October 02, 2005
Egyptian Released From Gitmo
In a release posted to its website, the Pentagon announced the release of one detainee to Egypt from the prison facility at Guantanamo.
The detainee was found no longer to be an enemy combatant by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal. For security purposes, his identity has not been disclosed.
The latest transfer raises the number of detainees who have departed Guantanamo to 247. Approximately 505 detainees remain at the prison facility.
August 23, 2005
3 Detainees Transferred from GITMO
The Department of Defense announced the release of three more detainees from Guantanamo, including one detainee to Yemen, one detainee to Tajikistan, and one detainee to Iran.
Two of the detainees - the Yemeni and the Tajik - were among the 38 detainees found no longer to be enemy combatants and cleared for release by the Combatant Status Review Tribunal. Nine of those detainees still await transfer.
The third detainee was transferred to Iran following the recommendation of an annual Administrative Review Board.
Citing security concerns, the names of those released or transferred have not been disclosed.
According to the Pentagon, the latest movement raises the number of detainees who have departed Guantanamo to 245. Approximately 505 detainees remain at the prison facility.
July 20, 2005
8 Detainees Depart Guantanamo
In a release posted to its website, the Department of Defense announced the release and transfer of eight detainees from the prison facility at Guantanamo, including one to Sudan, two to Afghanistan, three to Saudi Arabia, one to Jordan and one to Spain.
For security purposes, neither the names nor the identities of those released or transferred have been disclosed.
The latest transfer raises the number of detainees who have departed Guantanamo to 242. Approximately 510 detainees remain at the prison facility.
July 18, 2005
GITMO Detainee Extradited to Spain
Reuters reports that the U.S. has extradited suspected Islamic militant and former Guantanamo detainee Lahcen Ikassrien to Spain, where he is wanted for an investigation into al Qaeda. Following the September 11th attacks, Spain issued an arrest warrant for the Moroccan nationalist, alleging he has links to an al Qaeda terrorist cell in Spain that helped plot the September 11th attacks.
June 07, 2005
Safety Concerns Stall Repatriation for 15 Detainees
The Washington Times reports that 15 detainees determined no longer be "enemy combatants" and slated for release from Guantanamo more than three months ago remain at the prison facility, because the United States is unable to insure the safe return to their home countries.
According to defense officials, the delay is attributed to concerns about the potential treatment the detainees face from their home governments upon repatriation. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said it is U.S. policy not to return detainees to their countries if it is believed "more likely than not that they'll be tortured or subject to persecution."
The Pentagon has declined to provide the names or nationalities of the 15 men. Likewise, it has refrained from disclosing the foreign government that has prompted the concern.
According to the Times article, Army Brigadier General Jay Hood, who heads the prison camp at Guantanamo said "most of" the men awaiting release have been separated from the general population at the maximum security prison and are detained together in a part of the camp where they are afforded comforts - such as approved videos and communal meals - not bestowed on the rest of the inmate population.
"One of the non-enemy combatants," General Hood explains, "has not complied with instructions from the security force and so we removed him from that other group and he'll be held separately until we receive orders to return him to his country of origin."
April 19, 2005
17 Afghans, 1 Turk Transferred from GITMO
In a statement posted to its website, the Pentagon announced 18 detainees found to no longer be enemy combatants by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal, were transferred from the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to authorities in their home countries.
The largest known detainee release since 2004, 17 detainees were transferred to Afghanistan, while one detainee was repatriated to Turkey.
For security purposes, neither the names nor the identities of those transferred have been released.
The latest transfer raises the number of detainees who have departed Guantanamo to 232. Approximately 520 detainees remain at Guantanamo.
March 30, 2005
DoD: Combatant Status Review Tribunals for all GITMO Detainees Completed
During the 9th and most recent Defense Department Special Briefing on Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs) Secretary of the Navy Gordon England, Secretary Rumsfeld’s designated civilian official for the Detainee Administrative Review Processes at Guantanamo, announced that the CSRTs for all of the DoD detainees at Guantanamo - 558 in total - have been completed.
Secretary England explained the process:
“Once the hearing is completed, the record of the tribunal is compiled and forwarded to the convening authority, Admiral McGarrah, for sufficient review and for final action. Of the 558 CSRT hearings conducted, the enemy combatant status of 520 detainees was confirmed. The tribunals also concluded that 38 detainees were found to no longer meet the criteria to be designated as enemy combatants. So 520 enemy combatants, 38 non-enemy-combatants.”
“The Department of State has been notified of all of these determinations, and State is coordinating the return of the 38 non- enemy-combatants to their home countries. As of today, five of those 38 persons have returned to their home countries, and the Department of State is working to coordinate the return of the remaining 33 as expeditiously as possible.”
“As you know, we do not discuss individual cases, but I can share with you some of the common features of those cases to give you a sense of their complexity. Each case is different, and each case is difficult. Even for the detainees who have been determined by our CSRTs to be no longer to be designated as enemy combatants, the files on those detainees often contain information that suggests that they could be classified as enemy combatants. There is often conflicting information that has to be sorted through very carefully by the CSRT members.”
“It should be emphasized that a CSRT determination that a detainee no longer meets the criteria for classification as an enemy combatant does not necessarily mean that the prior classification as EC was wrong.”
March 13, 2005
3 More Detainees to be Released from Guantanamo
In a release posted to its website,the Pentagon announced that 3 detainees found no longer to be “enemy combatants” by Combatant Status Review Tribunals will be transferred from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Afghanistan, Maldives and Pakistan.
Neither the names nor the identities of those released have been confirmed.
Prior to the most recent transfer 211 detainees had departed Guantanamo: 146 for release, and 65 transferred to the control of other governments (29 to Pakistan, 5 to Morocco, 7 to France, 7 to Russia, 4 to Saudi Arabia, 1 to Spain, 1 to Sweden, 1 to Kuwait, 1 to Australia and 9 to Great Britain).
In total, 214 detainees have departed Guantanamo, while approximately 540 detainees remain at the prison facility.
February 15, 2005
CSRTs: 6 More GITMO Detainees to Be Sent Home
The Pentagon has announced that a military review panel at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba has found six more detainees should no longer be classified as “enemy combatants.” While a spokesperson declined to identify the prisoners or their nationalities, they said the State Department was arranging their repatriations.
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs) consider whether detainees belonged to - or were associated with - the Taliban or al Qaeda, and whether they fought against or pose a threat to the United States and its allies. The target of myriad criticisms, the much-maligned CSRTs have also been deemed “overly vague.”
When asked if the panel’s findings did not suggest the men - some captured and held without charge for in excess of 3 years - were detained in error, Navy spokesperson Captain Beci Brenton explained, “The finding of the (tribunals) is that they no longer meet the criteria," Reuters reports.
While the panels have thus far ruled that 410 Guantanamo prisoners were "enemy combatants," only four have been charged with crimes since the U.S. began sending suspected terrorists to the U.S. naval facility in Cuba more than three years ago.
As of the latest announcement, 12 Guantanamo detainees have been designated for release.
February 03, 2005
CSRTs: 3 More GITMO Detainees No Longer Classified as "Enemy Combatants"
As reflected in the Pentagon’s updated summary of tribunal statistics, the Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs) have found 3 more Guantanamo detainees should no longer be classified as “enemy combatants.”
Since they began back in July, the CSRTs have found 387 Guantanamo detainees were correctly classified as enemy combatants, while 6 detainees were determined not to be enemy combatants.
While a Pentagon spokesman would not identify the 3 men or their nationalities, he did indicate that the State Department would arrange for their respective repatriations, Reuters reports.
January 16, 2005
Kuwaiti Detainee Transferred from Guantanamo
The Pentagon announced it has transferred a detainee from Guantanamo to Kuwait for prosecution.
As the Washington Post reports, the detainee is identified as Nasser al-Mutairi, 26, who was captured in Afghanistan during the U.S.-led War on Terror. Designated an “enemy combatant,” he remained in custody at Guantanamo for the past three years ago.
Upon his return to the gulf nation, al-Mutairi was taken into government custody.
According to Voice of America, the detainee is the first of 12 Kuwaitis said to be doing charity work when captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
As per DoD, prior to the latest transfer 202 detainees departed the naval prison facility at Guantanamo - 146 were released, while 56 were transferred to the control of other governments (29 to Pakistan, 5 to Morocco, 4 to France, 7 to Russia, 4 to Saudi Arabia, 1 to Spain, 1 to Sweden and 5 to Great Britain). In total, 203 detainees have departed Guantanamo, while approximately 550 detainees remain currently detained.
January 11, 2005
Last 4 Britons, 1 Australian to be Transferred from Guantanamo
In a press release posted to its website, the Department of Defense announced it will be transferring 5 terror suspects - 4 Britons and 1 Australian - from Guantanamo. The announcement comes on the third anniversary of the U.S.-run prison facility in Cuba.
The Britons are identified as Moazzam Begg, Feroz Abbasi, Martin Mubanga and Jamaal Belmar. The Australian national is identified as Egyptian-born Mamdouh Habib. While the men have been held without charge or trial, their distinction as “enemy combatants” remains. As such, the governments of the United Kingdom and Australia have accepted responsibility for the men and upon their respective repatriations have provided assurance to the United States that they will “will work to prevent them from engaging in or otherwise supporting terrorist activities in the future,” The New York Times reports.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the plan to release the 4 remaining Britons follows “intensive and complex” discussions with the United States. Upon their return, Straw said “the police will decide whether to arrest them” on terrorism laws.
Australia’s attorney general Phillip Ruddock and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the United States believed that “Mr. Habib had prior knowledge of the terrorist attacks on or before 11 September 2001. Mr. Habib has acknowledged he spent time in Afghanistan, and others there at that time claim he trained with Al Qaeda.”
The Times reports however, that according to the officials' statement, it seems unlikely Habib will face prosecution under Australian law.
Another Australian terror suspect, David Hicks, remains detained at Guantanamo. Among the first terror suspects to be charged, Hicks is scheduled for trial in March
The latest transfer is expected to occur within the next few weeks.
December 21, 2004
2nd Detainee to be Freed from GITMO; Tribunals Determine Improper Designation as "Enemy Combatant"
A Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) has determined a Guantanamo detainee was mis-classified as an “enemy combatant” by the Pentagon and as such, the State Department will arrange for his repatriation, the Associated Press reports.
For security reasons neither the detainee’s name/nationality, nor circumstances under which he was captured have been released.
The unnamed detainee is the second to be exonerated under the military process established in response to June's Supreme Court ruling, which found detainees at Guantanamo could challenge their designation through the U.S. courts. In September, the three-man panel determined a detainee was improperly designated as an “enemy combatant.” The detainee was later released and repatriated to Pakistan.
As per the AP article, Navy Secretary Gordon England - who oversees the detainee administrative review processes at Guantanamo - refrained from admitting the latest prisoner was wrongly held.
“I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer to this. I think this is a gray area.”
According to the latest Special Defense Department Briefing on Status of Military Tribunals, the military has conducted 507 tribunals. Approximately 50 tribunals remain and are expected to be completed next month.
October 25, 2004
Senators McCain and Biden Voice Concern Over Alleged Prisoner Transfer
Responding to an article in Sunday's Washington Post citing a Justice Department opinion memo authorizing the CIA to remove Iraqis from their country for interrogation for a "brief but not indefinite period," leading senators expressed concern that the CIA secretly transferred as many as a dozen unidentified detainees out of unidentified locations in Iraq during the last six months, possibly violating international treaties, the Associated Press reports.
During a Sunday morning interview on ABC’s "This Week", Senator John McCain (R-Ariz) said that while interrogations can help extract crucial information from detainees on plans for future attacks against Americans, international law - including the Geneva Conventions - must nevertheless be followed.
"These conventions and these rules are in place for a reason because you get on a slippery slope and you don’t know where to get off…The thing that separates us from the enemy is our respect for human rights."
The CIA has come under fire for having as many as 100 "ghost detainees" - prisoners held without being registered with the International Committee of the Red Cross and whose whereabouts were not officially known in Iraq.
The report detailing how the CIA invoked a confidential memo to secretly transfer detainees out of Iraq was "another argument" for revamping the intelligence agency, averred Senator Joseph Biden (D-Del), senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who called for new leadership at the Justice Department.
Currently, Congress is considering legislation that would overhaul 15 agencies within the U.S. intelligence community and create a new powerful national intelligence director post.
September 23, 2004
American-born "Enemy Combatant" to Return to Saudi Arabia
An American-born Saudi detainee will soon be returned to Saudi Arabia, The New York Times reports. Yaser Esam Hamdi, 23, was picked up by U.S. forces on the battlefield in Afghanistan alongside surrendering Taliban in 2001, held for three months at Guantanamo then subsequently moved to military facilities in Virginia and South Carolina upon discovery by U.S. officials that he was a U.S. citizen.
For over two years Hamdi - designated an "enemy combatant" - had neither access to lawyers nor the right to stand trial. No criminal charges were ever brought against him.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled U.S. citizens held in America as "enemy combatants" have the right to legal counsel and the right to challenge their designation as well as their indefinite detention through the U.S. courts.
As agreed upon by Hamdi, his attorneys and the U.S. Justice Department, the conditions of the pending release stipulate Hamdi denounce his U.S. citizenship, and not return to the United States. Moreover, Hamdi is restricted from traveling to Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza, and is obliged to notify Saudi officials if he ever plans to leave the country.
As reported by The Times, Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo said the restrictions are meant to ensure Hamdi cannot again take up arms against the U.S. or its allies. Corallo said Hamdi no longer posed a threat to the U.S. and no longer possessed intelligence value.
"As we have repeatedly stated, the United States has no interest in detaining enemy combatants beyond the point that they pose a threat to the U.S. and our allies," Corallo said.
Saudi officials say Hamdi faces no charges there.
Upon Hamdi’s imminent release, only one other U.S. citizen distinguished as an "enemy combatant" - Chicago-born "dirty bomb" suspect Jose Padilla - will remain detained.
September 22, 2004
11 Afghan Detainees Released from Guantanamo
The Pentagon announced today 11 Afghan detainees held on suspicion of Taliban links have been released from Guantanamo, increasing the number of detainees who have left the Naval detention facility to 202.
“The men were escorted back to Afghanistan by a senior security official and are free to return to their homes,” The Associated Press reports.
With the first post-Taliban elections scheduled for October 9th, the latest detainee release appears politically motivated, as The Guardian reports, U.S. Army spokesman Major Scott Nelson said the detainees were released “per the request of the government of Afghanistan.”
While Hamid Karzai is favored to win in the polls, Taliban and Islamic militants have vowed to disrupt the U.N.-backed elections. As such, the interim president has made a concerted effort to appeal to former Taliban for their support of Afghanistan's reconstruction. Upon his decision last week to release senior Taliban member Mullah Mawlavi Qalamuddin from a Kabul prison, Reuters reported several hundred religious and tribal figures voiced their support for Karzai's U.S.-backed government. In recent weeks Karzai has likewise pressed hard for the release of Afghan nationals from Guanatanmo - and as The New York Times suggests - with the landmark elections approaching, the latest Guantanamo transfer could temper ethnic tensions and curb provinical violence in Afghanistan.
Of the latest release from Guantanamo Karzai's office offered, "The prisoners have shown their strong support for the peace-building and reconstruction process of the country and have intended to take active part in it."
Approximately 539 detainees remain at Guantanamo.
September 20, 2004
35 Pakistani Detainees Released from Guantanamo
As Voice of America reports, the U.S. has released 35 Pakistani nationals from the detention facility at Guantanamo. Of the 35, 29 were transferred to the control of Pakistan for continued detention, and 6 were repatriated to Pakistan for release. Pakistani officials estimate five nationals are still being held in the U.S. prison in Cuba.
Neither the names nor the identities of those released have been confirmed.
The announcement came a day before Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf left for the United States to address the U.N. General Assembly session. Pakistan has been a key ally of the United States in the global “war on terror.”
In a release posted to its website the Pentagon says the latest transfer includes the one detainee approved for release by DoD, and subsequently found to not be an enemy combatant by the Combatant Status Review Tribunal.
As of the latest release, the number of detainees who have departed Guantanamo is 191. There are now approximately 550 detainees remaining at Guantanamo.
September 15, 2004
275 Detainees Released from Abu Ghraib
Following a review by a joint Iraqi/U.S. military commission,The Army Times has announced 275 detainees were released Wednesday from the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib detention facility in Iraq.
As American Forces Press Service explains, the newly formed nine-member Combined Review and Release Board (CRRB) was established to determine if detainees continue to pose a security threat. Comprised of six Iraqi officials from the interim government’s ministries of justice, interior and human rights, and three senior officers from the U.S.-led multinational division, the CRRB considers several factors when reviewing each detainee's file, such as the circumstances surrounding their capture, the length of detention prior to review, the level of cooperation by the detainee and the detainee's potential for further acts of anti-Iraqi misconduct if released.
Quoting military spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that as a result of the review process “as many as 500 additional prisoners will be released by the end of the month.”
“Many more have been selected for release but are awaiting the guarantors from their local community,” the spokesman said.
Since the prisoner abuse scandal broke this past Spring, over 5,000 prisoners have been released from the facility.
September 10, 2004
1st. Suspect to Be Freed From GITMO - Tribunals Determine Detainee Poses No Threat
During a special Department of Defense Briefing, Navy Secretary Gordon England provided an update on the Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRT) currently underway at the U.S.-run military facility in Cuba.
As of Wednesday:
- 55 tribunals have been completed
- over 200 cases are currently open
- 30 of the 55 tribunal decisions have been reviewed by the convening authority, who concurred with the tribunal’s decisions that 29 of the 30 detainees were enemy combatants
- one detainee will no longer be classified as an enemy combatant
Whereas the tribunal determined the detainee “should not be classified any longer as an enemy combatant,” Secretary England said the suspect would therefore be returned to his home nation.
“I’ve notified the Department of State, and they are notifying that detainee’s home country," he announced. "We’ve also notified the detainee of that decision, and that detainee has been moved from the detainee camp to a transition facility at Gitmo until we complete the arrangements to transport him from Guantanamo to his home country. We will do that, obviously, as quickly as State Department can do that.”
Little detail was offered insofar as the suspect’s name, evidence held against him, or even his nationality, as Secretary England explained, “It’s really then up to the home country, working with our State Department, to release nationalities.” Pentagon officials say he was captured in Afghanistan in 2002 and later transferred to Guantanamo.
On the conditions the detainee is currently being held in during his transitional status, Secretary England offered, “I’m not sure I can describe it, but he’s no longer literally being held behind bars, so he obviously has more freedom now. And I’m not sure I know precisely -- I just know that he’s out of that environment, in a different environment on Guantanamo, waiting for State Department to make arrangements for him to return home.”
When asked if there was money, compensatory payment etc. that would be rewarded to the soon-to-be-released detainee, Secretary England reponded, "I wouldn't think so." When a follow-on question suggested the tribunal's findings were tantamount to an admission that a mistake was made - that the incarceration was ostensibly unjustifiable - he contended, "I'm not sure it's that clear cut. I mean, he was determined to be an enemy combatant at different times. We now have more data available, we have a different group of people--came to a different conclusion."
"Time has gone on. More data is available," he said. "That data may or may not have been available to prior people who reviewed this."
As The Washington Post reports, human rights groups decried the length of the detainees’ incarceration.
“It should not take more than two years for the U.S. military to determine that we were holding someone who is apparently not an enemy combatant,” said ACLU executive director Anthony Romero. “While this announcement is welcome, hundreds of so-called enemy combatants still languish in legal limbo at Guantanamo Bay. The government's assertion that it is entitled to lock people up indefinitely without any access to the courts violates our most basic notions of fundamental fairness.”
At a previous briefing it was estimated that the tribunal process would be completed in four or five months. Secretary England averred that while it was in fact “going slower” than expected, that it was “much more complex” than anticipated, he nevertheless foresees the process being completed by year’s end.
August 18, 2004
Beijing: U.S. Must Return Chinese Muslims
The New York Times reports today that officials from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs say the U.S. must return Uighurs - Chinese separatists detained at Guantanamo - or risk sending “the wrong signal” to the East Turkestan terrorist forces.
The Uighurs were captured while fighting alongside the Taliban during the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, and are currently detained at Guantanamo. The Muslim ethnic minority hails from the Xinjiang Region in Northwest China, which borders Muslim-populated nations such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Of Turkic descent, the exiled Muslim group is seeking to re-establish an independent East Turkestan in Central Asia. The Uighurs reportedly face harsh religious restrictions and repression since Chinese authorities associate the group with separatism and terrorism, deeming them a viable target in the campaign against global terrorism.
A statement posted to the PRC's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Website calls for the return of Uighur detainees to face terrorism charges in China, averring the detainees pose "a grave threat to the international community, including China and the US, and people's lives and property. The US side should proceed from the overall interests of international anti-terrorism cooperation and China-US relations and act cautiously in accordance with the norms of international law, so as to avoid sending any wrong signals to the terrorist force of East Turkistan," spokesman Kong Quan said.
The comment comes in response to an interview given late last week by Secretary of State Colin Powell to Asian journalists, during which it was announced the U.S. did not plan to repatriate the Chinese nationals upon their release from Guantanamo but rather, was considering relocating them to a third country, amid concerns the detainees face persecution if repatriated to China.
Mr. Powell did not specify when exactly the men would be released.
While China has supported Washington in the “war on terror,” the U.S. Department of State contends it has exploited the campaign as a pretext for its ongoing crackdown on the Uighur minority and other Muslim separatists.
Human rights groups systematically concurred with the Department of State's assessment. Back in November, Human Rights Watch urged Washington not to return the detainees, maintaining “Expelling, returning or extraditing a person to a country where there are substantial grounds for believing that he or she would be subjected to torture is a violation of the Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, a treaty that the United States ratified in 1994.”
As Voice of America explains, in the 1990s, the Xinjiang region experienced bombings and unrest, which China blamed on separatist groups. Since 9/11, Beijing has branded the separatists as terrorists, claiming they were collaborating with al Qaeda and Chechen terrorists.
August 14, 2004
Jordanian Prisoner Released
UPI reports that a Jordanian prisoner held by U.S. forces at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba since 2002 was released last week, reports said Saturday. Azzam is the brother of Abdullah Azzam, the spiritual leader of Jordanian Islamic groups that fought the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan during the 1980's. The released prisoner was seized by American forces during the U.S. war on Afghanistan that ousted the Taliban regime of Mullah Omar.
The Jordanian government says there were eight Jordanians held prisoner in Guantanamo, three of whom have already been released and returned home.
August 03, 2004
5 Guantanamo Detainees Returned to Morocco
The Pentagon has announced five Moroccans arrested in Afghanistan and detained at Guantanamo since January 2002 have been repatriated. Upon their return Sunday they were handed over to justice authorities for investigation, Morocco’s Maghreb Arabe Presse reports.
The New York Times has identified the men as Mohamed Ouzar, 24, Mohamed Mazouz, 30, Radouane Chekkouri, 32, Abdellah Tabarak, 49, and Brahim Benchakroun, 24.
While the North African nation has backed the U.S. in the global “war on terror,” and proves to be one of the West’s most vital allies in the Muslim world, the kingdom is reportedly home to an active network of Islamic militants, with Moroccans responsible for the suicide bombings in Casablanca that claimed the lives of 33 bystanders. Most of those charged with the train bombings that killed 191 people in Madrid were also Moroccan.
Prior to this latest repatriation, the Department of Defense reports 129 detainees were transferred for release and 22 others were transferred to the control of other governments (seven to Russia, four to Saudi Arabia, one to Spain, one to Sweden, five to Great Britain and four to France). 156 detainees have now departed Guantanamo. Upon release of the five Moroccans, there are approximately 585 detainees at Guantanamo.
July 31, 2004
Last Female Detainee Released from Abu Ghraib
The result of a coordinated effort between military lawyers and intelligence officials, and following the release of her sister Nehel, the Army has announced the release of Huda - the last remaining female detainee at Abu Ghraib. The sisters were among five women reported imprisoned at the detention facility in Iraq.
The release follows weeks of peaceful demonstrations in front of Camp Cook. Outside the U.S. base in Northern Baghdad, crowds of Iraqis assembled, awaiting answers concerning the status of more than 80 individuals detained at the prison facility, expressing particular concern over the fate of the female detainees.
Lt. Col. Don Cronkhite, chief of staff and executive officer of the 39th Brigade Combat Team stationed at the base pledged that if the detainees were in fact innocent, their release would be secured as soon as possible. If however, there was evidence against them justifying their continued detention, they would remain at Abu Ghraib.
Of the much-anticipated release Lt. Col. John Edwards, the 39th BCT staff judge advocate said, “we think it’s a show of good faith by the leadership of this brigade and this division that we are working with the new Iraqi government to demonstrate that we can be counted on to do the right thing.”
July 27, 2004
4 Guantanamo Suspects Return to France
Reuters reports today that France 2 television announced the United States has handed over to French authorities four French detainees captured during the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan and detained without charge at Guantanamo since 2001. Three other French nationals suspected of terrorism remain detained at Guantanamo.
The release follows lengthy and sometime difficult negotions between the two countries; France opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, and remains a vocal critic of the U.S. presence in Iraq.
Earlier, the French Foreign Ministry would not confirm reports of the repatriation. “We have nothing to say at this stage except that we are continuing our contacts” with the United States over the men's release, said French Foreign Ministry spokesman Herve Ladsous.
However, Justice Minister Dominique Perben said during a visit to Washington in May that some or all of the Frenchmen held in Guantanamo could be released within weeks.
Upon their return the Pentagon announced "The decision to transfer or release a detainee is based on many factors, including whether the detainee is of further intelligence value to the United States and whether he is believed to pose a threat to the United States if released."
Le Monde named the four men transferred as Mourad Benchellali, Nizar Sassi, Brahim Yadel and Imad Kanouni, ranging in age from 22-33 years old.
Upon their arrival at the Evreux military base in Normandy, BBC News reports, the men are expected to be interviewed by an anti-terrorism magistrate.
In France terror suspects can be held for questioning for up to four days, after which they must either be released or placed under formal investigation.
As per the Pentagon, 129 detainees were previously transferred for release and 18 others were transferred to the control of other governments (seven to Russia, four to Saudi Arabia, one to Spain, one to Sweden and five to Great Britain). 151 detainees have now departed Guantanamo. As a result of today’s transfer, there are now approximately 590 detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
July 05, 2004
US Negotiated 3-Country Prisoner Exchange in 2003
A July 4 New York Times article reports that prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the U.S., Britain and Saudi Arabia brokered a prisoner swap. Speaking on conditions of anonymity, senior American officials said the deal authorized the return of 5 unidentified Saudis detained at Guantanamo Bay in exchange for 5 Britons, a Canadian and a Belgian convicted of terrorist acts and imprisoned in Saudi Arabia.
Raising security and intelligence concerns, the arrangement met with initial
objections from the Pentagon, the C.I.A. and the Justice Department. As one
American official privy to the negotiations and in support of the exchange
explained, “To get people to take a chance on detainees who posed a threat
was a new endeavor, so everyone moved cautiously…It was the first time we
were doing this, and people did not want to do it.”
At the time, the 3-country prisoner release appeared unrelated. On Friday,
spokesman for the National Security Council Sean McCormick denied that the
Saudi detainees were exchanged for British prisoners. “There is no
recollection here of any linkage between these two actions,” he offered,
describing the return of the Saudis as “part of the normal policy of
transferring detainees from Guantanamo for prosecution or continued
detention.”
Nevertheless an American official told the Times the arrangement was for all
intents and purposes, a public relations coup. Aimed at placating allies
prior to the war in Iraq, the exchange he explained, “presented itself as a
way for the United States to help its friends, both the Brits and the
Saudis…It's what diplomacy is all about.”
June 26, 2004
Blair Asks That Remaining Gitmo Britons Be Sent Home
British and American news sources report today that British Prime Minister Tony Blair requested Friday that the four remaining Britons be returned to Britian without going through the military tribunal process established by the Bush administration. This request comes in the wake of scathing criticism of the tribunal process by the British Attorney General. Also on Friday, 31 U.N. human rights experts urged the United States and other governments to give the world body access to prisons holding terror suspects including Guantanamo.
June 24, 2004
Former Gitmo Detainees Freed In Russia
Russian News agencies reported today that Seven Russian citizens and former Guantanamo prisoners have been released from a detention center where they were kept after being handed over by the United States, the Interfax news agency reported. The seven suspected Taliban fighters were released by a court ruling June 22, but news agencies did not specify what the ruling was based on or why the court had ruled to release them.
Eight Russian citizens were captured by U.S. troops in the fall of 2001 in Afghanistan. The United States handed over seven of them to Russia on February 28. They were accused of being mercenaries and forming criminal groups. According to the Russian prosecutor’s office, they had been recruited by fundamentalist Islamic organizations, and then were sent to Afghanistan to fight for the Taliban.
The eight detainee remains at Guantanamo.
May 13, 2004
US To Free 20 Pakistani Prisoners
The BBC reports that about 20 of the 40 Pakistanis held at Guantanamo are due to be released by the end of the month. Over the past two years, a number of Pakistani nationals have been released from the Guantanamo Bay detention centre. According to the BBC, these prisoners have offered differing accounts of their treatment there, with some saying they were tortured.
May 11, 2004
French Nationals May Be Returned — Update
BBC news reports that France's justice minister has met with Ashcroft; French citizens held at Guantanamo may be returned within several weeks (see April 30)
April 30, 2004
Pakistan Negotiating For Release of Citizens
A BBC World News article reports that senior Pakistani officials have traveled to the United States to negotiate for the release of 30 Pakistanis that remain at Guantanamo. Pakistan maintains that more than 50 of its citizens, arrested in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taleban regime, were not directly linked to al-Qaeda or any other militant organisation; instead, they were missionaries sympathetic to the Taliban but not linked to Al-Qaeda. American investigators apparently released 20 of the Pakistanis arrested at that time, but have held the remainder at the camp.
French Nationals May Be Returned
An article in Reuters today said that seven French nationals may soon be returned to their home country. According to the article, lawyers for some French suspects have accused Paris of not putting enough pressure on Washington to have them repatriated. They say Paris is too keen to mend ties with the United States that were frayed over the Iraq war, which France opposed.
April 15, 2004
Tajiks Out
An April 14 wire story announced that four Tajik citizens have been released from detention. Apparently, Richard Hoagland explained that the men "were no longer dangerous," thus, "The United States had no wish to interfere in their further personal life." Eight more Tajiks remain at Guantanamo.
April 06, 2004
15 More Freed
On Friday, April 2nd, the US government announced it was releasing 15 more detainees from Guantanamo. The names have not yet been released, but military officials but said they came from Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Yemen. The Pentagon says about 595 detainees remain at the facility after Friday's release, from a one-time total of more than 700.
Nuri Mert Freed
Nuri Mert, a Turk taken into custody by the US during the invasion of Afghanistan following the September 11th attacks, was returned to Turkey and released after 4 days of questioning.
A story in the Turkish online newspaper Zaman notes that Mert had been persuaded by Al Queda to travel to Afghanistan, but had actually been captured and imprisoned by Taliban troops before joining up with Al Queda. According to the report:
Mert was then delivered to American soldiers and brought to Guantanamo Bay. He says that he endured psychological and physical torture at Guantanamo, where he was imprisoned for 2 years, and added that he is now suffering from amnesia as a result.