The United States has held a total of 115 Yemeni citizens at Guantanamo Bay, forty-two of whom have since been transferred out of the facility. [1] Only Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia had a greater number of their citizens held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. [1] By January 2008, the Yemenis in Guantanamo represented the largest group of detainees. [2]
Among the Yemeni detainees currently held (as of November 2015), 44 are recommended for transfer out of the facility, while twenty-three are being held indefinitely and are not recommended for transfer. [1] Only Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al Bahlul was convicted by military tribunal. Two of his convictions were vacated on appeal but a third, for conspiracy, was restored in 2016 en banc by a plurality of justices on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. [3] Two Yemeni detainees are awaiting trials by military commissions, Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Walid Bin Attash. [1]
A delegation of Yemeni officials visited Guantanamo shortly after it opened in January 2002. [4]
On March 12, 2008, Mark Falkoff of the Center for Constitutional Rights issued a call for the repatriation of the Yemeni detainees, reporting that 95 Yemenis remained in detention, and they now constituted more than a third of the total detainee population. [5] Falkoff wrote that the delay in his release is due to a failure of the United States and Yemeni governments to reach an agreement on the security arrangements for the detainees, following their repatriation. By contrast, almost all the 133 Saudi detainees in Guantanamo had been sent home in 2006 and 2007.[ citation needed ]
On December 25, 2009, Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (whose mother is from Yemen) [6] allegedly tried to set off a suicide bomb on Northwest Airlines Flight 253. By December 27, 2009, responding to rumors that Abdulmutallab had confessed to being trained and equipped in Yemen, various American politicians, including Joe Lieberman, Pete Hoekstra, Peter T. King and Bennie Thompson, called for American President Barack Obama to halt plans to repatriate the Yemenis. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
An article published in the Yemen Post on November 13, 2012, reported on secret terms in the US-Yemeni repatriation negotiations. [12]
Several returned Yemeni detainees were charged and stood trial, following their repatriation. [13] Yemen established a special Criminal Court for Terrorism where their trials took place. [14] [15] [16] [17]
On 7 June 2008, the Yemeni site Al Sahwa Net reported that negotiations were advanced for the repatriation of approximately seventy Yemeni detainees. [18] That same day, Yemen Online reported that several Yemeni detainees had recently been allowed to their first phone calls to their families. [19]
ISN | Name | Arrival date | Departure date | Notes | Transfer recommendation status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
00026 | Fahed Abdullah Ahmad Ghazi | 2002-01-11 | 2016-01-13 | transferred to Oman [20] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00027 | Uthman Abdul Rahim Mohammed Uthman | 2002-12-11 | received habeas corpus | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended continued detention | |
00028 | Muaz Hamza Ahmad Al Alawi | 2002-01-17 | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended continued detention | ||
00029 | Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah Al Ansi | 2002-01-16 | 2017-01-16 | transferred to Oman [21] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended continued detention |
00030 | Ahmed Umar Abdullah al Hikimi | 2002-01-16 | 2016-04-16 | Saudi Arabia [22] [23] [24] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00031 | Mahmoud Abd Al Aziz Abd Al Mujahid | 2002-01-12 | 2016-08-15 | transferred to the United Arab Emirates [25] [26] | 201x Periodic Review Board recommended transfer |
00032 | Faruq Ali Ahmed | 2002-01-11 | 2009-12-19 | transferred [ where? ] | |
00033 | Mohammed Ahmad Said Al Edah | 2002-01-17 | 2016-08-15 | transferred to the United Arab Emirates [25] [26] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00034 | Al Khadr Abdallah Muhammed Al Yafi | 2002-01-17 | 2015-01-14 | transferred to Oman [27] [28] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00035 | Idris Ahmed Abdu Qader Idris | 2002-06-08 | 2015-06-13 | transferred to Oman [29] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00036 | Ibrahim Othman Ibrahim Idris | 2002-01-11 | 2013-12-18 | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer | |
00037 | Abd al Malik Abd al Wahab | 2002-01-11 | 2016-06-22 | granted asylum in Montenegro [ citation needed ] | 2014 Periodic Review Board recommended transfer [30] [31] |
00039 | Ali Hamza Ahmed Suleiman Al Bahlul | 2002-01-11 | serving his sentence in Guantanamo | ||
00040 | Abdel Qadir Hussein Al Mudhaffari | 2002-01-14 | 2016-08-15 | transferred to the United Arab Emirates [25] [26] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00041 | Majid Mahmud Abdu Ahmad | 2002-01-17 | 2016-08-15 | transferred to the United Arab Emirates [25] [26] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended continued detention |
00043 | Samir Naji Al Hasan Moqbel | 2002-01-11 | 2016-01-13 | transferred to Oman [20] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00044 | Mohammed Rajab Sadiq Abu Ghanim | 2002-01-11 | 2017-01-05 | transfer [32] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended continued detention |
00045 | Ali Ahmad Muhammad Al Rahizi | 2002-01-11 | 2015-11-16 | transferred to the United Arab Emirates. [33] | |
00069 | Sadeq Muhammad Sa'id Ismail | 2007-06-18 | 2004-11-12 JTF-GTMO DAB recommended transfer [ citation needed ] | ||
00078 | Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi | 2002-02-08 | 2009-06-01 | died in custody [ citation needed ] | 2008-06-10 JTF-GTMO DAB recommended continued detention |
00088 | Waqas Mohammed Ali Awad | 2002-01-20 | 2016-01-13 | transferred to Oman [20] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00091 | Abdul Al Saleh | 2002-02-09 | 2016-08-15 | transferred to the United Arab Emirates [25] [26] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00115 | Abdul Rahman Mohamed Saleh Naser | 2002-06-12 | 2016-04-16 | Saudi Arabia [22] [23] [24] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00117 | Muktar Yahya Najee Al Warafi | 2002-05-01 | 2016-01-13 | transferred to Oman [20] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00128 | Ghaleb Nassar Al Bihani | 2002-01-17 | 2017-01-16 | transferred to Oman [21] | 201x Periodic Review Board recommended transfer |
00129 | Toufiq Saber Muhammad Al Marwa'i | 2002-06-12 | 2006-12-15 | transferred [ where? ] | 2005-01-07 JTF-GTMO DAB recommended transfer |
00131 | Salem Ahmed Hadi | 2002-01-20 | 2017-01-05 | transfer [32] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended continued detention |
00149 | Salim Ahmed Hamdan | 2002-05-01 | 2008-11-25 | transferred to serve sentence [ where? ] | 2008-09-04 JTF-GTMO DAB recommended continued detention |
00152 | Asim Thahit Abdullah Al Khalaqi | 2002-01-17 | 2014-12-30 | asylum [ where? ] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer; died in Kazakhstan shortly after his transfer [ citation needed ] |
00153 | Fayiz Ahmad Yahia Suleiman | 2002-01-17 | 2016-07-10 | transferred to Italy. [34] [35] | |
00156 | Allal Ab Aljallil Abd Al Rahman Abd | 2002-01-17 | 2012-09-10 | died in custody [ citation needed ] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00162 | Ali Husayn Abdullah Al Tays | 2002-02-09 | 2006-12-15 | transfer | 2004-10-08 JTF-GTMO DAB recommended transfer |
00163 | Khalid Abd Jal Jabbar Muhammad Juthman Al Qadasi | 2002-02-09 | 2015-11-16 | transferred to the United Arab Emirates. [33] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00165 | Adil Said Al Haj Obeid Al Busayss | 2002-01-17 | 2015-11-16 | transferred to the United Arab Emirates. [33] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00167 | Ali Yahya Mahdi Al Raimi | 2002-05-01 | 2016-04-16 | Saudi Arabia [22] [23] [24] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00170 | Sharaf Ahmad Muhammad Masud | 2002-06-08 | 2015-06-13 | transferred to Oman [29] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00171 | Abu Bakr Ibn Ali Muhhammad Alahdal | 2002-01-14 | 2016-01-13 | transferred to Oman [20] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00172 | Ali Muhammed Nasir | 2002-01-14 | 2007-09-28 | transferred | 2004-10-28 JTF-GTMO DAB recommended transfer |
00178 | Tarek Ali Abdullah Ahmed Baada | 2002-02-09 | 2016-04-16 | unknown [22] [23] [24] [36] [37] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00183 | Issam Hamid Al Bin Ali Al Jayfi | 2002-01-17 | 2006-12-15 | transferred | 2004-10-29 JTF-GTMO DAB recommended transfer |
00193 | Muhsin Muhammad Musheen Moqbill | 2002-05-03 | 2006-12-15 | transferred | 2004-10-01 JTF-GTMO DAB recommended transfer |
00198 | Mohammed Ahmed Ali Al Asadi | 2002-05-01 | 2006-12-15 | transferred | 2004-09-17 JTF-GTMO DAB recommended transfer |
00202 | Mahmmoud Omar Mohammed Bin Atef | 2002-02-07 | 2016-01-06 | transferred to Ghana [ citation needed ] | |
00221 | Ali Mohsen Salih | 2002-02-11 | 2007-06-18 | transfer | 2004-09-17 JTF-GTMO DAB recommended transfer |
00223 | Abdul Rahman Abdul Abu Ghiyth Sulayman | 2002-02-11 | 2016-08-15 | transferred to the United Arab Emirates [25] [26] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00224 | Abd Al Rahman Abdullah Ali Muhammad | 2002-02-09 | 2015-01-14 | transferred to Oman [27] [28] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00225 | Hani Abdul Muslih Al Shulan | 2002-02-09 | 2007-06-18 | transferred [ where? ] | 2004-10-15 JTF-GTMO DAB recommended transfer died in Yemen in 2009. |
00233 | Abdul Al Razzaq Muhammad Salih | 2002-02-11 | 2016-01-13 | transferred to Oman [20] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00235 | Saeed Ahmed Mohammed Abdullah Sarem Jarabh | 2002-02-11 | 2016-08-15 | transferred to the United Arab Emirates [25] [26] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00240 | Abdullah Yahia Yousf al Shabli | 2002-02-07 | 2017-01-05 | transferred [ where? ] [32] | |
00242 | Khaled Qasim | 2002-05-01 | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended continued detention | ||
00249 | Mohammed Abdullah Al Hamiri | 2016-04-16 | Saudi Arabia [22] [23] [24] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer | |
00251 | Muhhammad Said Bin Salem | 2002-02-07 | 2016-01-13 | transferred to Oman [38] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00252 | Yasim Muhammed Basardah | 2002-02-12 | 2010-05-04 | ? | |
00254 | Muhammad Ali Hussein Khenaina | 2002-06-08 | 2014-12-30 | ? | |
00255 | Said Muhammed Salih Hatim | 2002-06-12 | 2016-01-13 | transferred to Oman [20] | 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended transfer |
00256 | Atag Ali Abdoh Al-Haj | 2002-06-12 | 2009-12-19 | ? | |
00259 | Fadil Husayn Salih Hintif | 2002-02-09 | 2015-01-14 | transferred to Oman [27] [28] | |
00321 | Ahmed Yaslam Said Kuman | 2002-05-03 | 2016-04-16 | Saudi Arabia [22] [23] [24] | |
00324 | Mashur Abdallah Muqbil Ahmed Al Sabri | 2002-05-01 | 2016-04-16 | Saudi Arabia [22] [23] [24] | |
00434 | Mustafa Abdul Qawi Abdul Aziz Al Shamyri | 2002-06-12 | 2017-01-16 | transferred to Oman [21] | |
00440 | Mohammed Ali Abdullah Bwazir | 2002-05-01 | 2017-01-05 | transferred [ where? ] [32] | |
00441 | Abdul al-Rahman al-Ziahri | 2002-02-09 | 2016-07-11 | transferred to Serbia [ citation needed ] | |
00461 | Abdul Rahman Umir Al Qyati | 2002-05-03 | 2016-04-16 | Saudi Arabia [22] [23] [24] | |
00498 | Mohammed Ahmed Said Haidel | 2002-05-03 | 2017-01-16 | transferred to Oman [21] | |
00503 | Saleh Mohamed Al Zuba | 2002-06-08 | 2006-12-15 | ? | |
00506 | Khalid Mohammed Salih Al Dhuby | 2002-05-05 | 2016-01-06 | transferred to Ghana [ citation needed ] | |
00508 | Salman Yahya Hassan Mohammed Rabeii | 2002-05-01 | 2017-01-16 | transferred to Oman [21] | |
00509 | Mohammed Nasir Yahya Khusruf | 2002-05-03 | 2016-08-15 | transferred to the United Arab Emirates [25] [26] | |
00511 | Sulaiman Awath Sulaiman Bin Ageel Al Nahdi | 2002-05-05 | 2015-11-16 | transferred to the United Arab Emirates. [33] | |
00522 | Yasin Qasem Muhammad Ismail | 2002-05-01 | ? | ||
00549 | Omar Said Salim Al Dayi | 2002-02-15 | 2016-01-13 | transferred to Oman [20] | ? |
00550 | Walid Said Bin Said Zaid | 2002-05-03 | 2017-01-16 | transferred to Oman [21] | |
00553 | Abdul Khaled Al-Baydani | 2002-05-01 | 2014-11-20 | ? | |
00554 | Fahmi Salem Said Al Sani | 2002-02-15 | 2015-11-16 | transferred to the United Arab Emirates. [33] | |
00564 | Jalal Salam Bin Amer | 2002-06-14 | 2015-06-13 | transferred to Oman [29] | |
00566 | Mansour Muhammed Ali Al-Qatta | 2002-06-18 | 2016-04-16 | Saudi Arabia [22] [23] [24] | |
00569 | Zuhail Abdo Anam Said Al Sharabi | 2002-05-05 | ? | ||
00570 | Sabri Mohammed Ebrahim Al Qurashi | 2002-05-05 | 2014-12-30 | ? | |
00574 | Hamoud Abdullah Hamoud Hassan Al Wady | 2002-06-08 | 2013-12-16 | ? | |
00575 | Saad Masir Mukbl Al Azani | 2002-06-18 | 2015-06-13 | transferred to Oman [29] | |
00576 | Zahar Omar Hamis Bin Hamdoun | 2002-05-05 | 2016-08-15 | transferred to the United Arab Emirates [25] [26] | |
00577 | Jamal Muhammad Alawi Mar'i | 2002-05-01 | 2009-12-19 | ? | |
00578 | Abdul Aziz Abdullah Ali Al Suadi | 2002-05-03 | ? | ||
00586 | Karam Khamis Sayd Khamsan | 2002-05-01 | 2005-08-19 | ? | |
00627 | Ayman Saeed Abdullah Batarfi | 2002-05-01 | 2009-12-19 | ? | |
00678 | Fawaz Naman Hamoud Abdallah Mahdi | 2002-06-18 | 2007-06-18 | ? | |
00679 | Mohmmad Ahmad Ali Tahar | 2002-06-14 | 2009-12-19 | ? | |
00680 | Emad Abdalla Hassan | 2002-06-18 | 2015-06-13 | transferred to Oman [29] | |
00681 | Mohammed Mohammed Hassen | 2002-06-18 | 2010-07-13 | received habeas corpus [ citation needed ] | |
00683 | Fayad Yahya Ahmed | 2002-06-18 | 2009-12-19 | ? | |
00686 | Abdel Ghalib Ahmad Hakim | 2002-06-18 | 2014-11-20 | ? | |
00688 | Fahmi Abdullah Ahmed | 2002-06-18 | ? | ||
00689 | Mohammed Ahmed Salam | 2002-06-18 | 2015-01-14 | transferred to Oman [27] [28] | |
00690 | Ahmed Abdul Qader | 2002-06-18 | 2015-01-14 | transferred to Estonia [27] [28] | |
00691 | Mohammed Ali Salem Al Zarnuki | 2002-06-18 | 2015-06-13 | transferred to Oman [29] | |
00692 | Ali Bin Ali Aleh | 2002-06-18 | 2009-09-26 | ? | |
00693 | Ali Abdullah Ahmed | 2002-06-18 | 2006-06-10 | died in custody [ citation needed ] | |
00728 | Jamil Ahmed Said Nassir | 2002-08-05 | 2016-08-15 | transferred to the United Arab Emirates [25] [26] | |
00836 | Ayoub Murshid Ali Saleh | 2002-10-28 | 2016-08-15 | transferred to the United Arab Emirates [25] [26] | |
00837 | Bashir Nashir Al-Marwalah | 2002-10-28 | 2016-08-15 | transferred to the United Arab Emirates [25] [26] | |
00838 | Shawki Awad Balzuhair | 2002-10-28 | 2016-12-04 | transferred to Cape Verde. [39] | |
00839 | Musab Omar Ali Al Mudwani | 2002-10-28 | 2017-01-16 | transferred to Oman [21] | |
00840 | Ha Il Aziz Ahmed Al Maythali | 2002-10-28 | 2017-01-16 | transferred to Oman [21] | |
00841 | Sa id Salih Sa id Nashir | 2002-10-28 | ? | ||
01014 | Walid Mohammed Shahir | 2003-05-09 | 2004-03-31 | ? | |
01015 | Hussein Salem Mohammed | 2003-05-09 | 2014-11-20 | ? | |
01017 | Omar Mohammed Ali Al Rammah | 2003-05-09 | ? | ||
01453 | Sanad Ali Yislam Al-Kazimi | 2004-09-20 | ? | ||
01456 | Hassan Mohammed Ali Bin Attash | 2004-09-20 | ? | ||
01457 | Al Hajj Abdu Ali Sharqawi | 2004-09-20 | ? | ||
01463 | Abdul Al Salam Al Hilal | 2004-09-20 | ? | ||
10013 | Ramzi bin al-Shibh | 2006-09-05 | ? | ||
10014 | Walid bin 'Attash | 2006-09-05 | ? |
Hassan Muhammad Salih bin Attash is a citizen of Saudi Arabia, held by the United States in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts estimate that bin Attash was born in 1985, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Mohamed Atiq Awayd Al Harbi is a citizen of Saudi Arabia formerly held in extrajudicial detention in the United States's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. His Guantanamo Internee Security Number was 333. The US Department of Defense reports that he was born on July 13, 1973, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Yussef Mohammed Mubarak al-Shihri (1985–2009) was a citizen of Saudi Arabia who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. He was born on September 8, 1985, in Riyadh Saudi Arabia.
Muhammad Ali Abdallah Muhammad Bwazir is a citizen of Yemen, once held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. Bwazir's Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 440. American intelligence analysts estimate he was born in 1980, in Hawra', Yemen.
Ghaleb Nassar Al Bihani is a citizen of Yemen formerly held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. The Department of Defense estimate that he was born in 1979, in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Abd al-Salam al-Hilah is a citizen of Yemen, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.
Othman Ahmed Othman Al Omairah was a citizen of Saudi Arabia who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, Cuba.
Fayiz Ahmad Yahia Suleiman is a citizen of Yemen who was held without charge in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba for 14 years and 160 days. He was transferred to Italy on July 10, 2016.
Mashur Abdallah Muqbil Ahmed Al Sabri is a citizen of Yemen who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba until April 16, 2016. Al Sabri's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 324.
Salem Ahmed Hadi Bin Kanad is a citizen of Yemen, who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. His detainee ID number is 131. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts reports that Hadi was born on January 15, 1976, in Hadhramaut, Yemen.
Tarek Ali Abdullah Ahmed Baada is a citizen of Yemen, who was formerly held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. His detainee ID number is 178. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts estimated that Baada was born in 1978 in Shebwa, Yemen.
Khalid Mohammed Salih Al Dhuby is a citizen of Yemen, who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba for almost fourteen years. His Guantanamo Internee Security Number is 506. American intelligence analysts estimate that Al Dhuby was born in 1981, in Ta'if, Saudi Arabia.
After the United States established the Guantanamo Bay detention camp at its naval base in Cuba, officials occasionally allowed Guantanamo captives' phone calls to their family. In 2008 the Joint Task Force Guantanamo that manages the camps developed rules regarding phone calls: all detainees who met certain conditions were allowed to make one call home per year.
In late 2008, the Department of Defense published a list of the Guantanamo captives who died in custody, were freed, or were repatriated to the custody of another country. The list was drafted on October 8, 2008, and was published on November 26, 2008. Subsequently almost two hundred more captives have been released or transferred, and several more have died in custody.
Guantanamo Bay homicide accusations were made regarding the deaths of three prisoners on June 10, 2006, at the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camp for enemy combatants at its naval base in Cuba. Two of the men had been cleared by the military for release. The United States Department of Defense (DOD) claimed their deaths at the time as suicides, although their families and the Saudi government argued against the findings, and numerous journalists have raised questions then and since. The DOD undertook an investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, published in redacted form in 2008.
Muktar Yahya Najee Al Warafi is a citizen of Yemen, who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps in Cuba. The Department of Defense estimate that Al Warafi was born in 1974, in Ta'iz, Yemen.
Abdel Malik Ahmed Abdel Wahab Al Rahabi is a citizen of Yemen who was held in extrajudicial detention by the United States from December 2001 to June 22, 2016. He was one of the first twenty captives transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba, on January 11, 2002, and was held there until he was transferred to Montenegro, which granted him political asylum.
'They should stay there. They should not go back to Yemen,' Hoekstra said. 'If they go back to Yemen, we will very soon find them back on the battlefield going after Americans and other western interests.'
The 23-year-old suspect in the botched attack, Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab of Nigeria, allegedly told U.S. officials that he received his explosive device in Yemen and learned to use it there.
In his appearance on 'Fox News Sunday', Lieberman also argued that the botched attack should compel the Obama administration to abandon efforts to transfer suspected-terrorists out of the holding facility at Guantanamo Bay, saying that the complex is now well above international standards.
'I'd, at a minimum, say that whatever we were about to do we'd at least have to scrub (those plans) again from top to bottom,' said House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.
'Yesterday just highlights the fact that sending this many people back—or any people back—to Yemen right now is a really bad idea,' said Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee. 'It's just dumb….If you made a list of what the three dumbest countries would be to send people back to, Yemen would be on all the lists.'
"Saleh demanded $200 million in return for receiving the Yemeni detainees, but the US offered him only $20 million. The two sides could not reach an agreement to release the detainees by then," the US officials told Hadi.
There are more men from Yemen held at Guantanamo Bay than from any other country.
Oman, which shares a border with Yemen, also took in 10 lower-level detainees in 2015. Its acceptance of 20 men over the past 13 months has significantly aided the Obama administration's goal of repatriating or resettling all the men who have been recommended for transfer, most of whom have been languishing with that status since at least 2009 when a six-agency task force unanimously approved letting them go.
A Pentagon statement did not explain why the Department of Defense chose to wait to identify the 10 men for more than a day after the Sultanate of Oman announced it had taken them in as "temporary" residents "in consideration to their humanitarian situation."
The United States has transferred nine Yemeni men to Saudi Arabia from the US military prison at Guantanamo, including an inmate who had been on a hunger strike since 2007, US officials said.
It also comes ahead of Obama's planned trip to Saudi Arabia next week.
Saturday's release marks the largest transfer since 10 Yemenis were sent to Oman in January. It is the first time Saudi Arabia has taken any former Guantanamo inmates.
Two of the Afghan prisoners — Mohammed Kamin and Obaidallah, who only has one name — had been briefly charged in a military commission, The Miami Herald reports. The war crimes prosecutor dropped those charges.
The five men - in their 30s and 40s - were cleared for release since at least 2009, but US officials ruled out their return to Yemen, where the government is battling al-Qaeda rebels.
The United States is grateful to the Government of Oman for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The United States coordinated with the Government of Oman to ensure these transfers took place consistent with appropriate security and humane treatment measures.
The Pentagon announced on Thursday that it had transferred four Yemeni detainees from the wartime prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to Saudi Arabia, beginning an expected flurry of transfers in the waning days of the Obama administration.
With Congress pushing stricter restrictions on prisoner transfers, the Pentagon this weekend released five Yemenis from the prison camps at Guantánamo to resettle in the United Arab Emirates, one of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. None of the captives had ever been charged with a crime.
U.S. troops delivered a long-cleared Yemeni detainee to Italy over the weekend, the Pentagon disclosed Sunday, in a downsizing of the detention to 78 or fewer captives.
The United States said on Sunday it had transferred a Yemeni inmate from the Guantánamo Bay prison to Italy, bringing the number of detainees at the US naval base in Cuba to 78.
He was transferred to an undetermined country on April 16, 2016.
Mr. Balzuhair is the second detainee that Cape Verde has resettled. In 2010, it took in a low-level detainee from Syria.
Media related to Yemeni captives at Guantanamo Bay at Wikimedia Commons