CNN
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Eleven Yemeni detainees from Guantanamo Bay have been transferred to Oman, marking another detainee transfer from a military prison in the final days of the Biden administration.
The Pentagon announced in a news release Monday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has notified Congress of his intention to transfer detainees to Oman in September 2023.
The transferred detainees include Uthman Abd al-Rahim Muhammad Usman, Moas Hamza Ahmed Alwi, Khalid Ahmed Qassim, Suhail Abdul Anam Al-Shalabi, and Hani Saleh Rashid. – Includes Abdullah, Tawfiq Nasir Awad Al-Bihani, and Omar Mohammed Ali Al-Lamma. , Sanad Ali Islam Al-Kazimi, Hassan Muhammad Ali Bib Atash, Sharqawi Abd Ali Al-Hajj, Abd Al-Salam Al-Hila.
Defense officials said none of the men were charged with a crime while in custody.
President Joe Biden has made it his goal to close Guantanamo Bay as soon as he takes office. With two weeks left in the term, 15 detainees remain in detention facilities, three of whom are eligible for transfer, according to a Pentagon news release. The facility held about 40 people at the start of the Biden administration.
At least one of the deported Yemeni men, Qassim, said: “First at Bagram Air Base, then in Kandahar and Guantanamo, he was subjected to beatings, sleep deprivation, extreme isolation, exposure to sub-zero temperatures, forced standing and… “They were subjected to severe torture and ill-treatment, including being forced into oppressive positions,” said Reprieve, a human rights and legal nonprofit organization.
Tom Willner, a member of Qassim’s legal team, said in a statement: “We are grateful to the Biden administration for making this transfer possible and are thrilled that Khalid is a free man, but we are grateful to the Biden administration for making this transfer possible and are thrilled that Khalid is a free man. We must never forget the terrible injustice that occurred.” .
CNN has reached out to the Department of Defense for comment.
In recent weeks, the United States has also transferred four other Guantanamo Bay detainees to Kenya, Malaysia, and Tunisia.
And last month, the Court of Military Appeals rejected plea deals for three alleged co-conspirators of the September 11 attacks, including alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, after Austin tried to intervene and deny the deal. Got it back on track.
