US transfers 11 Yemeni detainees from Guantanamo Bay prison to Oman

Amnesty International welcomed the transfer but said Guantanamo would remain a ‘glaring, longstanding stain’ on human rights in the US.

The United States has transferred 11 Yemeni detainees from its notorious Guantanamo Bay detention centre to Oman after holding them for more than two decades without charge as part of Washington’s so-called “war on terror”.

“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 Department of Defense said in a statement on Monday evening.

The US-based Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) said that among the 11 detainees transferred to Oman this week, was Sharqawi al-Hajj, who had undergone repeated hunger strikes and hospitalisations at Guantanamo to protest his 21 years in prison, which came after two years of detention and torture by the CIA.

“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,” said Pardiss Kebriaei, a lawyer at CCR who represents al-Hajj.

Just 15 detainees now remain at Guantanamo, down from a peak of almost 800 in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks by al-Qaeda when then-US President George W Bush set up the Guantanamo prison camp to hold suspects indefinitely and without charge and disallowing legal challenges to their detention.

Hundreds of mostly Muslim men were seized from dozens of countries as part of the US’s so-called “war on terror”, which also involved the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and covert military operations elsewhere around the world.

Conditions at