The US officials told media that 10 more detainees, including a Pakistani, are being released from Guantanamo Bay prison. A total of 39 detainees are left at Guantánamo Bay out of which 10 are eligible to be transferred out to their countries.
Saifullah Paracha, a 73-year Pakistani and the oldest inmate at Guantanamo Bay has been in the prison for 16 years and he was not charged with any crime. Guantanamo prison is located at the US base in Cuba. Saifullah Paracha, accused of having links to Al-Qaeda, was cleared for release from the prison in May 2021.
“Of the 39 detainees remaining at Guantánamo, 10 are eligible to be transferred out, 17 are eligible to go through the review process for possible transfer,” a senior official told journalists in Washington. “Another 10 are involved in the military commission process used to prosecute detainees and two have been convicted.”
The Guantanamo prison had 40 detainees when the Biden administration came to power and the inmates number was reduced to 39 after Monday’s release of a Moroccan detainee. Abdullatif Nasser, who was repatriated on Monday, was cleared by a review board in July 2016.
Importantly, on Monday the Biden administration transferred one of the detainees to his home country for the first time. It seems to be a policy shift from the Trump presidency that repatriated a Moroccan man years after he was recommended for discharge.
