Eleven Guantanamo Detainees Find New Beginnings in Oman: A Shift in the US Detention Landscape

Eleven detainees from Yemen have been relocated from the US military facility in Guantanamo Bay to Oman.

This relocation has resulted in 15 detainees still incarcerated in the Cuban prison – the least number at any moment in its existence.

In a declaration, the Department of Defense expressed gratitude to Oman for assisting US initiatives aimed at “responsibly diminishing the detainee count and ultimately shutting down” the facility.

None of the individuals captured post the 9/11 terrorist attacks have faced charges during their extensive detention exceeding two decades.

The transfer, reportedly conducted in the early hours of Monday, occurs just days prior to the accused orchestrator of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, is set to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty through a deal with federal officials.

Monday’s relocation of the Yemeni detainees marks the largest transfer to a single nation at once under President Joe Biden.

Initiatives to resettle this group in Oman began years prior, though the US has indicated that repatriation to Yemen, embroiled in civil conflict, was too precarious.

Among those transferred from Guantanamo are Moath al-Alwi, who was approved for release in 2022 and was known for crafting model boats from items found within the prison, and Shaqawi al Hajj, who engaged in multiple hunger strikes to protest his imprisonment.

The men were given clearance for transfer by federal national security evaluation panels, which concluded that this action was “in alignment with the national security interests of the United States,” according to the Defense Department.

This transfer followed closely after Ridah Bin Saleh al-Yazidi, one of the prison’s original detainees since January 2002, was sent back to Tunisia.

The Defense Department noted that three of the 15 remaining detainees are also eligible for transfer.

The military facility is situated within a US naval base complex located in southeastern Cuba. Established by the Bush administration in 2002, it was set up to detain suspects captured during counter-terrorism operations following the 9/11 attacks. At its height, it housed approximately 800 detainees.

Contention has surrounded the treatment of detainees and the extended durations they were held before being formally charged.

While serving as president, Barack Obama promised to close the facility during his tenure, stating its existence contradicted US values and undermined the nation’s global standing, which is based on support for the rule of law.

Obama, who exited office in 2017, further contended that the facility’s existence damages partnerships with countries necessary for aiding the US’s battle against terrorism and that it contributes to the recruitment of jihadists.

However, during his administration, Obama encountered resistance in Congress regarding the closure of the facility, largely due to concerns about the fate of the existing detainee population. He managed to transfer or order the release of over 100 detainees to various nations.

The US Congress has prohibited the transfer of detainees to states within the US and has restricted their transfer to certain nations, especially those experiencing ongoing conflicts, such as Yemen.

A push to decrease the prison’s population and ultimately close it was halted under Donald Trump, who issued an executive order to maintain its operations during his initial term. Trump asserted that attempts to release detainees or shut down the facility made the US appear weak in the realm of terrorism.

Since his inauguration in 2021, President Joe Biden has been striving to extract more detainees from the facility, hoping to close it down – though the likelihood of achieving this before Trump’s return to office later this month appears slim.