Washington (TDI): The Pentagon has released a Tunisian detainee who had been held at Guantanamo Bay since the facility opened in 2002, without ever being charged.
Ridah bin Saleh al-Yazidi was repatriated to Tunisia on Monday, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Defense.
This marks the fourth transfer in two weeks by the outgoing Biden administration, which has been working to reduce the prison’s population. When Biden took office in 2020, Guantanamo Bay held 40 detainees.
Al-Yazidi, 59, was deemed “transfer-eligible” after undergoing a comprehensive interagency review process.
The Pentagon explained that U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin notified Congress on January 31, 2024, of his intent to support the transfer and, following consultations with Tunisia, completed the necessary steps for the transfer.
Although al-Yazidi was never charged with any crime, he had been approved for transfer over a decade ago. However, an agreement between the U.S. and Tunisia was only reached now.
Al-Yazidi had been captured by Pakistani forces near the Afghanistan border in December 2001 and was suspected of being an al-Qaeda fighter, according to The New York Times.
As of the latest statement, 26 detainees remain at Guantanamo, with 14 eligible for transfer.
Three detainees are subject to a periodic review of their status, seven are involved in military commissions, and two have been convicted and sentenced.
Also Read: The Paradoxes of U.S. Human Rights Diplomacy
Al-Yazidi was one of the first detainees at Guantanamo Bay, arriving on January 11, 2002, following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The prison, located at the U.S. military base in Cuba, operates under a military commission system that lacks the rights of traditional U.S. courts.
Some detainees who have been cleared for release have spent years at Guantanamo while the U.S. negotiates with other countries to take them in, as some nations are unwilling to accept them back.
Also Read: US Concerned Over Sentencing of Pakistanis by Military Courts
Guantanamo Bay once housed nearly 800 prisoners, many of whom were initially held at secret CIA “black sites” where they were subjected to “enhanced interrogation” techniques, which included torture.
The facility became a symbol of U.S. human rights abuses during the post-9/11 era.
President Barack Obama, who succeeded George W. Bush, had vowed to close Guantanamo, but his efforts were thwarted by legal obstacles and political opposition.
