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U.S. transfers Guantanamo detainee to home country of Algeria
Guantanamo Bay detention center was established by former President George W. Bush in 2002 to hold and interrogate prisoners suspected of having links to al-Qaida or the Taliban
The U.S. announced on Thursday that it had transferred a Guantanamo Bay detainee, Said bin Brahim bin Umran Bakush, back to his home country of Algeria. The detainee was captured in Pakistan in 2002 during a U.S.-led campaign to capture individuals suspected of supporting terrorism.
The move comes as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to close the controversial detention center, which has been a source of international controversy since its establishment in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
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Bakush had been held at Guantanamo for nearly two decades without charge or trial but was cleared for transfer last year following a review board assessment that found he no longer posed a threat to national security.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The U.S. has transferred a Guantanamo detainee back to his home country of Algeria, saying his continued detention was no longer necessary, the Department of Defense announced Thursday. <a href="https://t.co/Rt8oFYWCUA">https://t.co/Rt8oFYWCUA</a></p>— Ground News (@Ground_app) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ground_app/status/1649435379852779525?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Guantanamo Bay detention center was established by former President George W. Bush in 2002 to hold and interrogate prisoners suspected of having links to al-Qaida or the Taliban.
“The United States has transferred Mr. Bakush to the government of Algeria,” the Department of Defense said in a statement. “In consultation with our partners in Algeria, we completed the requirements for responsible transfer, including providing appropriate security assurances and monitoring measures.”
The transfer of Bakush is the latest in a series of moves by the Biden administration to reduce the number of detainees held at Guantanamo and eventually close the facility. With Bakush’s release, there are now just 30 detainees left at the detention center, down from a peak of around 680 in 2003.
Of the remaining detainees, 16 have been cleared for transfer and are awaiting placement in other countries, while three others are currently undergoing review board assessments.
Nine detainees are involved in the military commissions’ process, which is the system of military tribunals established by the US government to try terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo. Two detainees have been convicted in military commissions and are currently serving sentences.
The transfer of Bakush was welcomed by human rights organizations, who have long criticized the detention center as a violation of international law and a stain on America’s reputation.
In a statement, the director of the Security with Human Rights program at Amnesty International USA said, “The continued detention of men at Guantanamo Bay without charge or trial is a blatant violation of human rights,”. “We urge the Biden administration to take immediate steps to transfer the remaining detainees out of Guantanamo and to close the detention center once and for all.”
