Eurasia Press & News
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Eleven detainees at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay – eight Afghans and three Jordanians – have been transferred to the custody of their home countries, the Pentagon announced Sunday.
The men were flown out of the U.S. naval base in southeast Cuba after a military review was conducted at Guantanamo gauging whether the prisoners have intelligence value or pose a threat to the United States. The military does not provide details about individual cases.
Roughly 320 detainees remain at Guantanamo on suspicion of links to al-Qaida or the Taliban, including 80 who have been deemed eligible for transfer or release, according to the Department of Defence. The vast majority of the detainees have been held for years without being charged.
“The transfer is a demonstration of the United States’ desire not to hold detainees any longer than necessary,” a Pentagon statement said.
About 450 detainees have been released or transferred since the Guantanamo detention centre opened in January 2002, according to the military.
