US transfers 15 Guantanamo Bay prisoners to the UAE

The United States has transferred 15 inmates from the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba to the UAE, officials revealed on Monday.

The move marks the largest single transfer of Guantanamo detainees during President Barack Obama’s presidency.

The 12 Yemenis and three Afghans who were released were no longer deemed to pose a security threat to the US by a special task force that reviews Guantanamo inmates’ cases, the Pentagon said in a statement.

“The United States coordinated with the government of the United Arab Emirates to ensure these transfers took place consistent with appropriate security and humane treatment measures,” the Pentagon said.

Those transferred include:

Abd al-Muhsin Abd al-Rab Salih al-Busi

Abd al-Rahman Sulayman

Mohammed Nasir Yahi Khussrof Kazaz

Abdul Muhammad Ahmad Nassar al-Muhajari

Muhammad Ahmad Said al-Adahi

Abdel Qadir al-Mudafari

Mahmud Abd Al Aziz al-Mujahid

Saeed Ahmed Mohammed Abdullah Sarem Jarabh

Mohammed Kamin

Zahar Omar Hamis bin Hamdoun

Hamid al-Razak

Majid Mahmud Abdu Ahmed

Ayub Murshid Ali Salih

Obaidullah

Bashir Nasir Ali al-Marwalah

The latest move brings the total number of detainees at Guantanamo down to 61 – including many held for more than a decade.

It comes after Obama rolled out his plan earlier this year to shut down the facility.

“Keeping the facility open is contrary to our values,” he said in February. “It undermines our standing in the world. It is viewed as a stain on our broader record of upholding the highest standards of rule of law.”

According to reports, several detainees have been transferred to countries such as Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Yemen.

A US official also told Reuters that the UAE had already resettled five detainees transferred from the facility in November 2015.