U.S. Frees Fourth Guantánamo Inmate This Month, Only 26 Detainees Remain in Cuba

The Pentagon announced on Monday that it had returned one of the remaining inmates at the Guantánamo Bay military detention facility to Tunisia.

Ridah Bin Saleh al-Yazidi arrived at the facility on the very first day it opened, January 11, 2002, during President George W. Bush’s administration, as reported by The New York Times.

He was deemed suitable for transfer “through a thorough interagency evaluation process,” a statement from the Defense Department noted.

“In collaboration with our Tunisian partners, we fulfilled the criteria for a responsible transfer.”

He was the fourth inmate returned from Guantánamo this month.

Currently, the facility holds 26 inmates, according to the statement. At its highest point, approximately 800 individuals were detained at the site located on the eastern edge of Cuba.

The detention center, operated by the U.S. Navy, was established after Bush proclaimed a “war on terror” following the September 11 attacks.

The conditions within Guantánamo have led to ongoing protests from advocacy groups that accuse the U.S. of inflicting torture and other violations of human rights within its barbed-wire enclosure. U.N. officials have denounced it as a location of “unprecedented infamy.”

President Biden committed prior to his election to make efforts to close Guantánamo, yet it still remains operational. According to the Times, there were 40 inmates when Mr. Biden assumed office.

The Defense Department stated that out of the 26 still incarcerated, 14 are eligible for transfer, three are qualified for assessment by the review board, and seven are undergoing trials via the military commission process. According to the Pentagon, only the last two inmates have been found guilty and sentenced by military commissions.