The United States sends 11 Guantanamo prisoners to Oman to start a new life

The US military has sent 11 Yemeni prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to Amman to resume their lives, the Pentagon said on Monday, leaving just 15 men in prison in a bold move at the end of a Biden administration that has left the prison population lower than at any time in its more than 20-year history. .

None of the released men were charged with crimes during two decades of detention. Now, all but six of the remaining prisoners have been captured Accused or convicted Of war crimes.

There were 40 detainees when President Biden took office and revived the Obama administration’s efforts to close the prison.

The Pentagon carried out the secret operation in the early hours of Monday, days before Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the most famous prisoner at Guantanamo, pleaded guilty to planning the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. In exchange for life imprisonment Instead of facing a death penalty trial.

The delivery process has been in progress for approximately three years. The initial plan was to conduct the transfer in October 2023 It was derailed by congressional opposition.

Among those released were 11 Moath al-Alwia former long-time hunger striker, has gained attention in the art world Building model boats Among the things found in Guantanamo prison: Abdulsalam al-Hilawhich defense lawyers requested in USS Cole case; And Hassan bin Attash. Younger brother For the defendant in the September 11 conspiracy case.

All prisoners were approved for transfer through federal national security review panels.

American officials declined to say what the United States provided to Oman, one of the most stable US allies in the Middle East, and what guarantees it obtained in return. By law, the military may not send Guantanamo prisoners to Yemen, because Yemen, as a country locked in a brutal civil war, is considered too unstable to monitor and rehabilitate returnees.

The United States typically pays salaries to host countries for housing, education, rehabilitation, and monitoring of the men’s activities. The United States also asked receiving countries to prevent former Guantanamo detainees from traveling abroad for at least two years.

Few details have emerged about the rehabilitation program from Oman, an isolated state led by a sultan. Saudi Arabia has shown Its own reintegration centre For Guantanamo detainees of journalists and scholars, however, Oman did not.

U.S. officials have described the Amman program as “integrated” and designed to help Yemenis return to society with jobs, homes and families, many through arranged marriages.

The Obama administration sent 30 detainees to Oman from 2015 to 2017. One man died there, but the rest were repatriated — 27 to Yemen and two to Afghanistan, according to a State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the arrests. The sensitivity of diplomatic negotiations

Many Yemenis married and had children in Oman and returned to their homeland with their families.

He said that news of the success reached the Yemeni prisoners in Guantanamo and made Oman the desired resettlement country George M. Clarkattorney for two of the men who were transferred this week.

“It’s not just cultural fit,” Clark said. “This is because they have been given reasonably decent freedom, and have been properly integrated into society in a successful way. This is what makes resettlement successful.”

The men sent to Oman were captured by US allies or detained in the US between 2001 and 2003. Mr Clark said they were keen to rejoin the world of mobile phones and internet access.

“They want to live their lives,” said Mr. Clark, who represents them. Tawfiq Al-Bihani And Mr. Bin Attash. “They want to get married. They want to have children. They want to get a job and live a normal life.”

In October 2023, a military cargo plane and a security team were already at Guantanamo Bay to transport the 11 detainees to Oman when congressional objections prompted the Biden administration to cancel the mission, which finally completed this week.

At that time, the prisoners leaving this week had already undergone exit interviews with representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the guards had taken their personal belongings that would travel with them.

For the following year, Tina S. kept her company, the State Department official said. Caedano, the Biden administration’s envoy for Guantanamo affairs, said the deal was workable through negotiations, travel and meetings within the US government and with the receiving country. Mrs. Caedano He died in October.

There are three other Guantanamo prisoners eligible for transfer, including a stateless Rohingya, a Libyan and a Somali.

In addition, efforts are underway To create a nation to receive and provide health care A disabled Iraqi man pleaded guilty to commanding irregular forces in Afghanistan during wartime. US officials plan to send him to a prison in Baghdad. But he is suing the Biden administration to thwart the transfer Under the pretext that he would be in danger in his homeland.

The detention area at Guantanamo is now emptier and quieter than it was before.

The remaining fifteen detainees are being held in two prison buildings whose cells can accommodate about 250 prisoners.

The prison opened on January 11, 2002 with the arrival of the first 20 detainees from Afghanistan. At its peak, in 2003, the operation included about 660 prisoners and more than 2,000 soldiers and civilians and was led by a two-star general. Detainees were often held in open-air cells on a slope overlooking the water during prison construction.

The operation now includes 800 soldiers and civilian contractors – 53 guards and other staff for each detainee – and is run by a younger officer, Colonel Stephen Kane.

Most of those sent to countries including Afghanistan, Algeria, Kenya, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia have been returned. In addition, Belize kissed a Pakistani man Who confessed to war crimes and became a collaborator with the government. That man, Majid Khan, was joined there by his wife and daughter.