Guantánamo: five more prisoners freed

US sends four Yemenis to Oman and one to Estonia for resettlement, leaving 122 captives in prison on Cuba



 Republican Senator John McCain with colleague Kelly Ayotte, who has introduced legislation to increase limitations on the transfer or release of Guantánamo Bay captives. Photograph: Michael Reynolds/EPAAssociated Press in Miami

Thursday 15 January 2015 00.15 EST

Five men from Yemen have been freed from the Guantánamo Bay prison after more than a dozen years of captivity and sent to Estonia and Oman for resettlement, US officials have said Wednesday. It is the latest in a wave of releases that have alarmed congressional opponents of closing the detention centre.

Four of the men went to Oman and one to Estonia, according to a Pentagon statement. It was the first time either nation accepted Guantánamo prisoners for resettlement. The men had been cleared for release since at least 2009 but the US has balked at sending captives back to Yemen, where the government is battling an al-Qaida insurgency.

All five were captured in Pakistan and detained by the US as suspected al-Qaida fighters. US officials later determined it was no longer necessary to detain them but have struggled to find other countries willing to take them in. The men are all in their 30s and 40s, including one who was 17 when taken captive.

President Barack Obama came into office pledging to close the detention centre but was blocked by Congress, which barred transferring any prisoner to the US for any reason and imposed restrictions on sending them elsewhere.

Congress eased the restrictions on transfers abroad in December 2013 and the Obama administration has stepped up the releases in recent months. There are now 122 prisoners at Guantánamo, including 54 who have been approved for transfer. Of those cleared to leave, 47 are Yemeni and will likely have to be resettled in other countries given the security situation in their homeland.

“We are committed to closing the detention facility. That’s our goal and we are working toward that goal,” said Ian Moss, a spokesman for the US state department.

The recent releases have angered some members of Congress, who have argued that Guantánamo is necessary to detain terrorism suspects. Republican senators on Tuesday proposed restrictions that would bar transfers to Yemen for two years and suspend the transfer of men previously classified as high-risk or medium-risk.

“Now is not the time to be emptying Guantánamo,” said Senator Kelly Ayottee as she predicted fresh terrorist threats.

 http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2...risoners-freed