Long-time Guantanamo prisoner Rid Bin Saleh al-Jazidi returned to Tunisia, the BBC reported on Tuesday, citing a statement from the US Department of State. Yazidi has been behind bars since the Guantanamo facility opened in January 2002.
59-year-old Rid Bin Saleh al-Jazidi, citizen Tunisiaspent 22 years in Guantanamo without official charges. A 2008 report by the Brookings Institution showed that the US military considered him a fighter who had received training at a Taliban camp in Afghanistan.
Guantanamo prison in Cuba Maren Hennegoth/PAP
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Guantanamo prisoners
According to the New York Times, however, Jazidi “was never charged and was approved for transfer more than a decade ago,” the BBC reported. Yazidi was scheduled to be released at the end of Barack Obama's term, but that ultimately did not happen. After taking over the presidency, Donald Trump the release of prisoners was suspended.
Guantanamo, opened after the attacks committed in USA On September 11, 2001 (the first prisoners arrived there in January 2002 – ed.), it became a symbol of controversy related to brutal interrogation methods and detaining prisoners without trials. At the peak, there were nearly 800 people there.
During the administration of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, a total of 697 people were released, but the closure of the facility, announced by Obama and Joe Bidenwas not implemented due to congressional resistance. Currently, 26 detainees remain in Guantanamo. 14 of them – as reported by the BBC – “are eligible for transfer”.
At the beginning of December Pentagon announced that three other prisoners had been transferred from prison, the Associated Press reported.
Main photo source: Maren Hennegoth/PAP