US transfers 11 detainees out of Guantanamo Bay prison to Oman

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The United States sent 11 Yemeni detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to Oman, the Pentagon said on Monday, leaving 15 people at the infamous detention centre.

The transfer was initially slated for October 2023 but the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel and Israel's subsequent war on Gaza delayed the transfer, according to an admission from US officials in May last year.

"The United States appreciates the willingness of the government of Oman and other partners to support ongoing US efforts focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility," the US military said in a statement.

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) said in a press release shared with Middle East Eye that Shaqawi al-Hajj, 51, was flown to Oman this week after spending nearly 21 years in prison. He also spent two years at CIA sites.

"He was part of a transfer of a group of 11 Yemenis cleared for release, bringing the Guantanamo population to 15 men, six of whom are uncharged, including three men also cleared for transfer," the press release said.

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The CCR says that Hajj was never charged with a crime and was subject to "physical and psychological coercion" at CIA sites before transferring to Guantanamo in 2004. He attempted to hurt himself multiple times during his incarceration, according to the centre.

“Our thoughts are with Mr Al Hajj as he transitions to the free world after almost 23 years in captivity. His release is hopeful for him and for us. We are grateful to Oman and to the individuals in the administration who made this transfer happen, and to the many people over the years whose work and advocacy paved the way for this moment,” said Pardiss Kebriaei, a senior staff attorney at CCR who represents Hajj.

Shutting down Guantanamo

The US has ramped up its efforts to reduce the number of detainees at the prison. In December, the US repatriated a Tunisian national who had been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2002 without ever being charged. The same month, the US sent three detainees to Malaysia and Kenya.

In August last year, two dozen Yemeni men and former Guantanamo detainees were expelled from Oman, according to a report by the news site, Forever Wars.

The men had been resettled to Oman after being transferred out of the Guantanamo Bay prison between 2015 and 2017, in a deal where Muscat had provided the former detainees with housing, healthcare, financial resources, and job training.

They have since been sent back to Yemen, where rights experts are worried they could face persecution or danger, especially as the US has been ramping up its attacks on sites controlled by Yemen's Houthis.

Located at the US military base in Cuba, Guantanamo operates under a legal system led by military commissions that do not guarantee the same rights as traditional US courts.

Inmates cleared for release sometimes spend years at Guantanamo as Washington looks for countries to take them after they are freed, with some governments unwilling to take them back or in.

The current number of 15 people left at the prison is a drastic plunge for the facility that once housed nearly 800 prisoners, many of whom initially spent time at covert CIA locations known as "black sites”.

When US President Joe Biden entered office in 2021, there were 40 prisoners at Guantanamo. Biden pledged to close the prison early in his presidential term and has aimed to transfer the remaining eligible prisoners out of the detention centre before leaving office.

US President-elect Donald Trump has not indicated what he would do with the remaining prisoners. However, during his first term in office, he signed an executive order to keep the prison open, reversing an Obama-era policy intended to close the prison.

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