BREAKING NEWS – The Department of Defense announced Wednesday the transfers of five Guantanamo Bay detainees after more than a dozen years of captivity. Al Khadr Abdallah, Muhammad Al Yafi, Fadel Hussein Saleh Hentif, And Al-Rahman Abdullah Au Ahabati and Mohammed Ahmed Salam were sent to Oman, while Akhmed Abdul Qadir was transferred to Estonia. This marks the first time either country has accepted former Guantanamo prisoners for resettlement. All five transfers were captured in Pakistan and detained by the U.S. as suspect Al Qaeda fighters. U.S. officials determined it was no longer necessary to detain them, but could not release them to Yemen because of the country’s instability. The release of these five terror suspects brings the number of detainees at Guantanamo Bay down to 122. The transfers of these individuals comes in the wake of Republican senators introducing a new legislation to clamp down on President Obamas ability to transfer terror suspects out of the detention facility. These senators called for a time out on releasing more detainees after the Paris terror attacks. The measure would repeal current law that allows the administration to transfer prisoners to foreign countries to reduce the population at Guantanamo. The bill also would prohibit transfers of terror suspects to foreign countries if there has been a confirmed case where an individual was transferred from Guantanamo and engaged in any terrorist activity. Any transfers to Yemen would be shut down for two years. Obama has pushed to close the detention facility since his inauguration in 2009. However, opponents say that Guantanamo is the best location for terror suspects since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The administration has been transferring detainees cleared for movement to other countries. Five men who were held for a dozen years without charge at Guantanamo were sent to the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan for resettlement in late December. Nearly 30 prisoners were resettled in third countries last year as part of Obamas renewed push to close the detention center.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 04:25:53 +0000
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