4/20/2023

The U.S. has transferred a Guantanamo detainee back to his home country of Algeria, saying his continued detention was no longer necessary, the Department of Defense announced Thursday [4/20/2023]

Said bin Brahim bin Umran Bakush was captured in Pakistan in 2002 during an aggressive campaign by the U.S. to apprehend persons suspected of supporting terrorism following the 9/11 attacks. Last year a review board found that his continued detention at the Guantanamo Bay detention center was no longer necessary and ‘he could be safely transferred, noting his lack of any leadership role in al Qaeda,’ Amnesty International said. …

With his release, 30 detainees remain at Guantanamo. Of those 30 detainees, 16 are eligible for transfer; three are eligible for a review board assessment to see if they are also eligible for transfer; nine are involved in the military commissions process; and two detainees have been convicted in military commissions.”

– Tara Copp, “US Transfers Guantanamo Detainee to Algeria,” news.yahoo.com, April 20, 2023