Long-Cleared Gitmo Detainees Transferred to Oman

116 detainees still remain at Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility with 51 cleared for release. (Photo: Justin Norman/flickr/cc)

Long-Cleared Gitmo Detainees Transferred to Oman

Among those released was Emad Abdallah Hassan, who has been on hunger strike since 2007 and was a victim of force-feedings

The U.S. Pentagon on Friday transferred six Yemeni detainees, long-cleared for release, from the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, leaving 116 to await their unknown fate.

Idris Ahmad 'Abd Al Qadir Idris, Sharaf Ahmad Muhammad Mas'ud, Jalal Salam Awad Awad, Saa'd Nasser Moqbil Al Azani, Emad Abdallah Hassan, and Muhammad Ali Salem Al Zarnuki were all sent to Oman from the military prison in Cuba for resettlement, according to a government statement issued Saturday.

"All six had been cleared for release for at least five years. None was ever charged with a crime. All were taken to the prison camps in the summer of 2002," the Miami Herald's Carol Rosenberg, who has closely followed the Guantanamo trials, reports.

Hassan, who was among those released, had been on a hunger strike since 2007 and, according to his attorneys, had failed to get a judge to stop his forced-feedings. Rights groups charge that force-feeding amounts to a form of torture.

We Interrupt This Article with an Urgent Message!

Common Dreams is a not-for-profit news service. All of our content is free to you - no subscriptions; no ads. We are funded by donations from our readers. This media model only works if enough readers pitch in. We have millions of readers every month and, it seems, too many take our survival for granted. It isn't. Our critical Mid-Year fundraiser is going very slow - only 503 readers have contributed a total of $19,000 so far. We must raise $31,000 more before we can end this fundraising campaign and get back to focusing on what we do best.
If you support Common Dreams and you want us to survive, we need you.
Please make a tax-deductible gift to our Mid-Year Fundraiser now!

Rosenberg notes that these were the first transfers approved by Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, "who at his February confirmation hearings said he would not succumb to administration pressure to increase the pace of releases."

Though U.S. President Barack Obama has repeatedly pledged to close the infamous prison, 116 prisoners now remain with 51 cleared from wrongdoing and awaiting transfer. Following the latest transfers, the Herald updated their list of who remains at Guantanamo.

Join Us: News for people demanding a better world


Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place.

We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference.

Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today!

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.