Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Yemen Doc Cleared to Leave Gitmo After 7 Years

Justice Department clears detainee for transfer to unknown country

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 31, 2009 4:38 AM CDT

(Newser) – A Yemeni doctor held at Guantanamo Bay since 2002 has been cleared for transfer abroad as part of the administration's review of prisoner cases, reports CNN. Justice Department officials say the hard part now will be to find a country willing to take him. The Bush administration once claimed the physician had taken part in an anthrax program of Al Qaeda, but he was never charged with any crime. Federal attorneys filed a motion to halt all legal proceedings against him yesterday.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

A member of the US military stands watch in a guard tower along the fence line of Camp Delta in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (Getty Images)

Dr. Ayman Saeed Batarfi was held at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan after being captured near the Pakistani border and was later transferred to Guantanamo Bay. (Getty Images)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

There was no basis under international law for the US government to hold him. - William J. Murphy, lawyer for Guantanamo detainee Dr. Ayman Saeed Batarfi

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

AP Photo

35 Brutally Honest Reasons Men Say No to Sex (The Stir)

Which Entertainer Pulled Out of 'Inappropriate' Whitney Tribute? (NewsOne)

The French Government Wants to Tone My Vagina (Slate)

Obama Photo on Facebook Helps Catch Drug Dealer (HuffPost)

Hottest Women to Ever Appear in the SI Swimsuit Issue (Bleacher Report)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 2 of 2 comments

Corona_Kinq

Mar 31, 2009 12:44 PM CDT

If that doc wasn't a terrorist when he went into Gitmo, he probably is one now.

Doctor-Zaius

Mar 31, 2009 11:07 AM CDT

Another colossal screw up by the Bush admin. If this guy did something wrong they needed to get evidence to prove it. Now, with nothing concrete on him, we have no choice but to let him go and when he returns to wherever if he wasn't working for the bad guys there's a good chance that after 7 years of water boarding or worse, he will be.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Rick Santorum: Birth Control Is 'Not OK'

Valentine's Day Role-Playing Goes Very Wrong

CNN (Source Grid »)
New York Times (Source Grid »)

Review clears doctor for transfer abroad
Reuters

Fate of Yemeni detainees worries human rights group
AFP

World • Crime & Courts

Department of Justice • enemy combatants • Guantanamo Bay • Yemen • Guantanamo prisoners • al-Qaeda

More Newser Stories

Al-Qaeda Magazine Found in Gitmo

Prosecutor reveals embarrassing security breach

(NEWSER) - A copy of al-Qaeda's Inspire magazine somehow found its way into a terror suspect's cell at Guantanamo Bay. The security breach was revealed at a hearing yesterday by a prosecutor defending the prison camp's plan to review mail between prisoners and their attorneys, the Miami Herald reports. The magazine, launched in 2010 , glorifies al-Qaeda actions including the 9/11 attacks and offers bomb-making tips and messages of support for Gitmo inmates. More»

Al-Qaeda Storms Yemen Town

Opposition accuses Saleh of giving Qaeda a green light

(NEWSER) - Al-Qaeda militants have taken control of another town in Yemen, in yet another power grab in a country rocked by protests. With President Ali Abdullah Saleh due to hand over power this month (though he may not leave Yemen ), opposition figures are accusing him of letting the group seize the city of Radda in order to demonstrate that Yemen needs him to fend off the militant threat, the AP reports. Al-Qaeda members killed two soldiers and wounded one as some 200 militants poured into the city, reportedly carrying grenades and automatic weapons. More»

Guantanamo Bay Turns 10

And appears no closer to closure than it was 2 years ago

(NEWSER) - Today is a birthday, but probably not one you want to celebrate: Guantanamo Bay is turning 10, an anniversary that will be marked by protests here and abroad. Ten years ago, the first 20 detainees were flown to the detention facility in chains. Several of those 20 remain at Gitmo today, NPR notes. Of the 171 detainees still held at Guantanamo, just 36 will likely be given a military trial. Another 48 will, seemingly, be detained indefinitely; the US lacks a sufficient amount of evidence to try them, but insists they are too dangerous to release. More»

US May Swap Gitmo Inmates for Taliban Peace Deal

Negotiations near breakthrough, US officials say

(NEWSER) - After many months of secretive negotiations, peace talks between the US and the Taliban are at a turning point, reports Reuters , which cites senior US officials speaking under condition of anonymity. The US is considering transferring Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to Afghan custody in return for concessions from the Taliban, possibly including a denunciation of terrorism and a willingness to enter talks with Hamid Karzai's government, the officials say. More»

Al-Qaeda Militants Escape Yemen Prison

Anywhere from 10 to 15 flee Aden prison

(NEWSER) - Just months after almost 60 suspected al-Qaeda militants escaped from a Yemen jail , another 10 to 15 militants broke out of another Yemen prison early today. The convicts fled through a tunnel as long as 130 feet that took them under the Aden prison and dropped them off outside the walls. A security official tells the AP that a dozen of the escaped men had been convicted of murdering security officials and a bank robbery. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Yemen Doc Cleared to Leave Gitmo After 7 Years