[Eleven Yemeni Detainees Transferred from Guantanamo Bay to Oman in Final Days of Biden Administration
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin notified Congress in September 2023 that he intended to transfer eleven Yemeni detainees from Guantanamo Bay to Oman. The transfer has been completed, marking the latest in a series of moves to empty the military prison in the waning days of the Biden administration.
The transferred detainees include Uthman Abd al-Rahim Muhammad Uthman, Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi, Khalid Ahmed Qassim, Suhayl Abdul Anam al Sharabi, Hani Saleh Rashid Abdullah, Tawfiq Nasir Awad Al-Bihani, Omar Mohammed Ali al-Rammah, Sanad Ali Yislam Al Kazimi, Hassan Muhammad Ali Bib Attash, Sharqawi Abdu Ali Al Hajj, and Abd Al-Salam Al-Hilah.
At least one of the transferred detainees, Khalid Qassim, was never charged with a crime and has been held at the prison for over 20 years. According to Reprieve, a human rights organization, Qassim was subjected to severe torture and mistreatment during his detention, including beatings, sleep deprivation, and forced standing.
“We are grateful to the Biden Administration for effecting this transfer and are overjoyed that Khalid is a free man, but must never forget the appalling injustice he has been subjected to,” said Tom Wilner, a member of Qassim’s legal team.
The transfer is part of a larger trend, with the US having transferred four other Guantanamo Bay detainees to Kenya, Malaysia, and Tunisia in recent weeks. Additionally, a military appeals court recently put back on track plea deals for three alleged co-conspirators of the 9/11 attacks, including suspected mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, after Defense Secretary Austin attempted to reject the deals. With two weeks left in his term, 15 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay, with three eligible for transfer.
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