These are the Guantanamo Bay detainees approved for transfer
There are currently 105 detainees being held at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre in Cuba.
Two of these, considered to be lower-level detainees have been transferred to Ghana January 6, 2016. They are Khalid Mohammed Salih al-Dhuby and Mohammed Omar Mohammed Bin Atef. The two men who were born in Saudi Arabia are considered Yemeni citizens based on their family and tribal ties according to military dossiers leaked by Pvt. Chelsea Manning.
The transfer of detainees are part of plans by the Obama administration to close down the centre before the President ends his term in less than a year.
A statement from the US Embassy in Accra copied to ghanabusinessnews.com thanking the Ghana government for accepting to take in the detainees says the closure of Guantanamo is a goal shared by many governments around the world.
According to the statement, the US coordinated with the Government of Ghana to ensure that these transfers took place “consistent with appropriate security and humane treatment measures.”
What is touted as “a comprehensive review” was conducted by the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force in accordance with an executive order by the US President on January 22, 2009.
“As a result of those reviews, which examined a number of factors, including security issues, Atef and Al-Dhuby were unanimously approved for transfer nearly six years ago by the six departments and agencies comprising the task force,”the Embassy said.
The statement explained that the decision to transfer a detainee is made “only after detailed, specific conversations with the receiving country about the potential threat a detainee may pose after transfer and the measures the receiving country will take in order to sufficiently mitigate that threat, and to ensure humane treatment.”
“While our policy preference is to repatriate detainees to their home countries where we can do so consistent with our national security and humane treatment policies, under certain circumstances the most viable transfer option is resettlement in a third country. Of the 133 detainees who have been transferred from Guantanamo during this Administration, 82 have been resettled in third countries.”
The Sunday Times of the UK has published an undated list of 76 captives approved for transfer or repatriation to their countries.
The two detainees brought to Ghana are on the list.
Click on this link for the list.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi