The United States releases the Guantanamo Bay detainee in Jabu to Kenya Human Rights News

29 prisoners remain in the US detention center in Cuba after the transfer of Muhammad Abd al-Malik Bagabo.

United States launched Guantanamo Bay Detainee Mohamed Abdelmalik Bagabo was transferred to Kenya, bringing the number of prisoners in the facility to 29.

The Pentagon announced Bagabo’s release on Tuesday, saying Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had notified Congress of the decision to return him to Kenya last month.

Kenyan authorities arrested Bagabu in Mombasa in 2007, then transferred him to Guantanamo weeks later for his alleged involvement with Al-Qaeda’s East African branch.

The Periodic Review Board, which evaluates the status of detainees, decided in 2021 that Bjabo was “no longer necessary to protect against a significant continuing threat to the national security of the United States.”

Reprieve US, which represented Bagabo, welcomed his release, saying he had been tortured by Kenyan authorities as well as members of the US military.

“The United States robbed an innocent man of the best years of his life, separating him from his wife and young children when they needed him most,” the lawyer who helped defend Bjabo said in a statement.

“His children, who were infants when he was tortured, interrogated and shipped to Guantanamo, are now grown. This debt can never be repaid, but the least the United States can do is ensure that Abdul Malik has the support and space he needs to start his life over.

Guantanamo prison Opened in 2002 To house detainees captured during the so-called “War on Terror” after the September 11 attacks.

The prison is located on a US military base in Cuba, and operates under a legal system led by military commissions that do not guarantee the same rights enjoyed by traditional American courts.

Sometimes detainees who are allowed to be released spend years in Guantanamo, as Washington searches for countries to receive them after their release.

The prison housed approximately 800 detainees, many of whom initially spent time at secret CIA sites known as “black sites,” where They were tortured Under the “enhanced interrogation” program approved by the administration of former President George W. Bush.

Guantanamo became an enduring symbol of American violations during that era.

Barack Obama, Bush’s successor, had promised to close the facility, but he did so It failed largely due to legal technicalities and internal political opposition.

Of the 29 detainees who remain at Guantanamo, 15 are eligible for transfer, according to the Pentagon.

In July, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks, and two other detainees reached a plea agreement that will see them spend the rest of their lives in prison without the possibility of a trial as the government seeks to execute them. Punishment for them.

But Austin The deal was blocked After protests from some conservative lawmakers and families of the attack victims.

A military judge reinstated the plea agreement, but the Pentagon is appealing that decision.

The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that it aims to eventually close the detention center at Guantanamo.

She added, “The United States appreciates supporting the ongoing American efforts toward a thoughtful and comprehensive process focused on responsibly reducing the number of detainees and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center.”