Status: 04/03/2022 02:36 am
In 2008, the Pentagon dropped the allegations against Sufiyan Barhoumi – now the Algerian has been deported to his homeland after almost 20 years in the US prison camp at Guantanamo. That leaves 37 prisoners in the camp.
An Algerian prisoner has been released from the notorious US Guantanamo prison camp. After nearly 20 years of extrajudicial detention, the US deported Sufiyan Barhoumi to his homeland. The US Department of Defense announced that a recommendation by the responsible review body would be implemented. The panel had already determined in August 2016 that Barhumi’s detention was no longer necessary “to protect against an ongoing significant threat to US national security”.
The transfer took place in coordination with the Algerian authorities. The US Congress was informed, the statement said.
Pentagon dropped allegations in 2008
According to US media reports, Barhoumi was taken to Guantánamo after his arrest in Pakistan in July 2002. He had been accused of having worked as an instructor in an al-Qaeda camp. But the Pentagon had already dropped the allegations against him in 2008.
According to the Defense Ministry, there are still 37 prisoners in Guantánamo. The US authorities have released 18 of them. Other prisoners, such as the suspected mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, are to be tried.
A total of almost 800 people were temporarily held in the controversial prison camp in Cuba, which is located at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay. The camp was set up by Republican President George W. Bush after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to hold suspected Islamist terrorists without trial.
Republicans in Congress against closure
Over the years, however, Guantanamo became more and more of a burden for the US government: the camp and the special tribunals there became a symbol of the excesses of the US anti-terrorist fight.
Former President Barack Obama tried in vain to close the camp. US President Joe Biden also announced this goal after taking office at the beginning of last year. So far, however, he has not made any progress. There is fierce resistance to a closure, which human rights organizations have been demanding for a long time, particularly among Republicans in the US Congress.