Guantanamo detainee, held since 2002 without charge, released
There are currently 26 individuals held at Guantanamo Bay prison, which the US committed to closing in 2009. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
A total of 26 people remain at the prison that the US pledged to shut down in 2009.
The Pentagon has confirmed the repatriation of a Tunisian detainee who had been held at Guantanamo Bay since its establishment in 2002.
Ridah Bin Saleh al Yazidi was one of the first terrorism suspects brought to Guantanamo Bay on January 11, 2002. Despite spending 24 years at this facility, located within a US naval base in Cuba, he was never formally charged.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin informed Congress of his intent to support al Yazidi's release in January, as stated by the Department of Defense on Monday.
The statement indicated that "in consultation with our partner in Tunisia, we completed the requirements for responsible transfer."
According to the Pentagon, al Yazidi was covertly airlifted from Guantanamo Bay to Tunisia, although no specifics about the security arrangements surrounding the 59-year-old’s return were disclosed.
He was captured in Pakistan near the Afghanistan border shortly after the 9/11 attacks, as part of a group of 30 men, some of whom were believed to be bodyguards of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
A leaked 2007 prison assessment referred to al Yazidi as a potentially dangerous detainee who displayed hostility toward the guards. However, a 2010 task force under then-President Barack Obama cleared him for release to another country, asserting that he could not be prosecuted for war crimes.
Ian Moss, a former State Department official involved in detainee transfers, told the New York Times that al Yazidi “could have been gone a while ago but for Tunisian foot-dragging.”
As Moss explained, Tunisia was initially considered unsafe or unwilling to accept him, and the detainee had refused to engage in discussions about transferring to other countries.
Al Yazidi’s release forms part of the outgoing Biden administration's effort to decrease the prison population at Guantanamo Bay. His departure marks the fourth detainee transfer from the facility in just two weeks.
This move leaves 26 detainees at Guantanamo Bay, a reduction from 40 when Biden took office. Among them, 14 are cleared for transfer to other countries, while nine are either in pretrial proceedings or convicted of war crimes. Consequently, it appears that the Biden administration is unlikely to meet the goal of closing the prison, a commitment originally made by Obama back in 2009.
Ramin Sohrabi contributed to this report for TROIB News
The Pentagon has confirmed the repatriation of a Tunisian detainee who had been held at Guantanamo Bay since its establishment in 2002.
Ridah Bin Saleh al Yazidi was one of the first terrorism suspects brought to Guantanamo Bay on January 11, 2002. Despite spending 24 years at this facility, located within a US naval base in Cuba, he was never formally charged.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin informed Congress of his intent to support al Yazidi's release in January, as stated by the Department of Defense on Monday.
The statement indicated that "in consultation with our partner in Tunisia, we completed the requirements for responsible transfer."
According to the Pentagon, al Yazidi was covertly airlifted from Guantanamo Bay to Tunisia, although no specifics about the security arrangements surrounding the 59-year-old’s return were disclosed.
He was captured in Pakistan near the Afghanistan border shortly after the 9/11 attacks, as part of a group of 30 men, some of whom were believed to be bodyguards of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
A leaked 2007 prison assessment referred to al Yazidi as a potentially dangerous detainee who displayed hostility toward the guards. However, a 2010 task force under then-President Barack Obama cleared him for release to another country, asserting that he could not be prosecuted for war crimes.
Ian Moss, a former State Department official involved in detainee transfers, told the New York Times that al Yazidi “could have been gone a while ago but for Tunisian foot-dragging.”
As Moss explained, Tunisia was initially considered unsafe or unwilling to accept him, and the detainee had refused to engage in discussions about transferring to other countries.
Al Yazidi’s release forms part of the outgoing Biden administration's effort to decrease the prison population at Guantanamo Bay. His departure marks the fourth detainee transfer from the facility in just two weeks.
This move leaves 26 detainees at Guantanamo Bay, a reduction from 40 when Biden took office. Among them, 14 are cleared for transfer to other countries, while nine are either in pretrial proceedings or convicted of war crimes. Consequently, it appears that the Biden administration is unlikely to meet the goal of closing the prison, a commitment originally made by Obama back in 2009.
Ramin Sohrabi contributed to this report for TROIB News
