The view toward the exit gate in the abandoned Camp X-Ray at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base on July 23, 2015. A Guantanamo Bay detainee was transferred to Tunisia this week, the Pentagon said. File Photo by Ezra Kaplan for UPI
Dec. 31 (UPI) — Guantanamo Bay detainee Ridah bin Salah al-Yazidi was repatriated to Tunisia, leaving 26 remaining at the Cuba-based U.S. military facility, the Pentagon said on Monday.
Yazidi was one of the original Guantanamo Bay detainees, being placed in the facility the day it opened on Jan. 11, 2002, located at the Camp IV Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, but he was never charged.
Yazidi was determined transfer-eligible by a rigorous interagency review process established by 2009 Executive Order 13492,” the Defense Department said.
“On Jan. 31, 2024, Secretary of Defense Austin notified Congress of his intent to support this repatriation and, in consultation with our partner in Tunisia, we completed the requirements for responsible transfer.”
The Pentagon had previously announced the repatriation of three other detainees. Mohammed Farik bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir bi Lep were transferred back to their home country of Malaysia to serve the remainder of their five-year sentences imposed in June.
Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu, another detainee, was transferred to Kenya.
Of the 26 detainees remaining at Guantanamo Bay, 14 of eligible for transfer, three are eligible for a periodic review board, and seven are involved in a military commission process.
Two of the detainees have been convicted and sentenced by military commissions, the Pentagon said.