US authorities announced on Tuesday the transfer to Kenya of a man held without charge for more than 17 years at the Guantanamo military prison, in what was the first repatriation of an arrestee at these facilities in more than a year, despite the fact that the Joe Biden Administration proposed closing the center during his term.
The US Department of Defense has identified the man as Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu – who has never been charged with any crime – and has indicated that in December 2021 it was determined that his detention was “no longer necessary.” Therefore, the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, notified Congress last month (November 2024) of his intention to repatriate him to Kenya.
Bajabu had been detained since 2007, as indicated last year by Mark Maher, a lawyer for the Human Rights group Reprieve US that represented him, to the American television network CNN. According to court documents, the detainee was a facilitator for the terrorist group Al Qaeda in Africa.
The NGO Amnesty International has considered that this is “a step in the right direction”, although it has qualified that “it is not enough”, since there are still several people who are waiting to leave Guantanamo and who have not been charged with any crime. “As a matter of justice, they should be transferred as soon as possible.”
“We welcome the news that Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu, who has been detained indefinitely without charge in Guantanamo for more than 17 years, has finally been transferred out of the prison. The United States Government now has the obligation to guarantee that the Kenyan Government respects and protects his Human Rights,” said the director of Human Rights Security of the NGO in the United States, Daphne Eviatar.
AI has assured that it expects “to see more transfers in the coming days”, since some of the people who have received the ‘green light’ to leave the prison have been there “for more than a decade.” “Biden must transfer these men before he leaves office, or he will continue to be responsible for the U.S. government’s abhorrent practice of indefinite detention without charge or trial,” he urged.
There are currently 29 detainees remaining at Guantanamo, of whom 15 may be repatriated, according to data provided by U.S. authorities. They include three alleged 9/11 conspirators whose plea deals are at the center of an ongoing dispute between the Pentagon and a military judge.
“The United States appreciates support for ongoing U.S. efforts toward a deliberate and thorough process focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility,” a statement said.
Several presidents of the country, such as Joe Biden and Barack Obama, have promised to close the detention center, following requests from the Cuban government, which has previously described the prison as an “atrocious jail” and criticized more than “20 years of scandalous abuses in illegally occupied Cuban territory.”
