Tunisia: The Pentagon has announced the release of Ridah bin Saleh al-Yazidi, a Tunisian detainee held in Guantanamo Bay since the prison camp’s opening in 2002. Al-Yazidi, 59, was repatriated to Tunisia, marking the fourth such transfer by the Biden administration in two weeks.
According to the Department of Defence, al-Yazidi was considered eligible for transfer following a “rigorous interagency review process.” Despite being cleared for release over a decade ago, an agreement with Tunisia was only recently finalised. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin informed Congress of the repatriation plan on January 31, 2024.
Al-Yazidi, captured by Pakistani forces near the Afghanistan border in December 2001, was supposed to be an al-Qaeda fighter. Al-Yazidi was transferred to Guantanamo on January 11, 2002, the day the facility opened to house detainees arrested during the U.S.’s “war on terror.” However, he was never formally charged with any crime.
The Biden administration has made efforts to reduce Guantanamo Bay’s population, which stood at 40 detainees when President Biden took office in 2020. Currently, 26 inmates remain, with 14 eligible for transfer. Others include detainees experiencing military commission trials or periodic reviews.
The Guantanamo Bay prison, located at a U.S. military base in Cuba, has been widely criticised for its controversial legal system and history of human rights abuses. Once housing nearly 800 prisoners, many were subjected to harsh treatment at covert CIA facilities before being transferred to Guantanamo.
While former President Barack Obama pledged to close the facility, legal and political challenges prevented its closure. Guantanamo remains a contentious symbol, even as its population continues to shrink under successive administrations.
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