Guantanamo Bay

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Gitmo Detainee Mentioned in Pre-9/11 Memo Returned to Saudi Arabia

Ghassan al-Sharbi was held for more than 20 years without trial

(Newser) - The inmate population at Guantanamo Bay now stands at 31—down from 35 a few weeks ago—with the repatriation of a 48-year-old Saudi prisoner. Ghassan al-Sharbi was held at the base in Cuba for more than 20 years without trial. Al-Sharbi, who allegedly traveled to Afghanistan in August 2001...

Brothers Freed After 19 Years at Guantanamo Bay

Pakistani brothers were never charged with a crime during years in US custody

(Newser) - Two Pakistani brothers held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay military prison for two decades were freed by US officials and returned home on Friday, officials said. They will be reunited with their families after formal questioning by Pakistani authorities, according to security officials and a Pakistani senator. Pakistan...

Gitmo's Oldest Prisoner Goes Home
Gitmo's
Oldest
Prisoner
Goes Home
Oct 30, 2022 9:15 AM CDT

Gitmo's Oldest Prisoner Goes Home

Saifullah Paracha, 75, was held for 2 decades though never charged

(Newser) - Saifullah Paracha no longer has the distinction of being the oldest prisoner at Guantanamo Bay. The US has released the 75-year-old back to his native Pakistan, reports NBC News . The former businessman had been held for 20 years by the US on suspicion of ties to al-Qaeda leaders including...

Jan. 6 Defendants Really Don't Like the DC Jail

They've asked a court to transfer them to Guantanamo Bay

(Newser) - A group of Jan. 6 defendants awaiting trial in the District of Columbia jail have asked to be transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where they say the detention facility "actually provides nutritious meals … sunlight exposure, top-notch medical care, is respectful of religious requirements, [and] has centers for exercise/entertainment....

Gitmo 'Forever Prisoner' Cleared for Release

Khalid Ahmed Qasim was held for more than 20 years without being charged

(Newser) - Khalid Ahmed Qasim, aka Prisoner 242, has been cleared for release after spending almost half his life detained without charge at Guantanamo Bay. Human rights organization Reprieve says the 45-year-old Yemeni national was taken into custody in Afghanistan in Dec. 2001 and brought to the American base in May 2002,...

Alleged 9/11 Plotters Present List of Demands

It's part of plea agreement talks as their cases drag on in military court

(Newser) - Possible plea agreements could include life sentences for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his four alleged accomplices if they were to admit to carrying out the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Plea agreement negotiations are unfolding at Guantanamo Bay, with defendants pushing to have execution taken off the table, the New York Times...

After 20 Years, Suspected '20th Hijacker' Leaves Gitmo

Mohammad Ahmad al-Qahtani has been flown back to Saudi Arabia

(Newser) - A Saudi prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center who was suspected of trying to join the 9/11 hijackers has been sent back to his home country for treatment for mental illness, the Department of Defense said Monday. Mohammad Ahmad al-Qahtani was flown to Saudi Arabia, to a treatment facility,...

Officers on Gitmo Jury Slam Torture, Recommend Clemency

They call treatment of Majid Khan 'a stain on the moral fiber of America'

(Newser) - After a two-day sentencing hearing at Guantanamo Bay, a military jury sentenced former al-Qaeda operative Majid Khan to 26 years Friday—but seven of the eight jurors took the unusual step of writing a letter to a senior official urging clemency. The military officers, who had been required to sentence...

Gitmo Inmate Describes Years of Abuse at CIA Sites

'I thought I was going to die,' Majid Khan says

(Newser) - A Guantanamo Bay prisoner who went through the brutal US government interrogation program after the 9/11 attacks described it openly for the first time Thursday, saying he was left terrified and hallucinating from techniques that the CIA long sought to keep secret. Majid Khan, a former resident of the Baltimore...

US: Guantanamo Detainee Is Allowed to Describe Torture

Poland is investigating Abu Zubaydah's treatment at secret CIA site

(Newser) - The Biden administration says it will allow a Guantanamo Bay detainee to provide information to Polish officials about his torture in CIA custody following the 9/11 attacks. The decision from the Biden administration was included in a letter government lawyers filed Friday with the Supreme Court. The administration said it...

3 Held at Gitmo for 15 Years Set to Get First Day in Court

They're accused in the deadly 2002 Bali nightclub bombings and other plots

(Newser) - Three prisoners at Guantanamo Bay are expected to get their first day in court after being held for 18 years in connection with the deadly 2002 Bali nightclub bombings and other plots in Southeast Asia. The AP explains:
  • Who. Indonesian prisoner Encep Nurjaman, known as Hambali, and two Malaysians he
...

Number of Guantanamo Detainees Drops to 39

Abdul Latif Nasir is repatriated to Morocco

(Newser) - The detainee population at Guantanamo Bay has dropped from 40 to 39, marking just the second transfer since former President Obama left office. Abdul Latif Nasir's transfer was cleared in 2016 under that administration, but the Washington Post reports he was one of five such readied transfers that weren'...

Lawyers: Don't Force-Feed 9/11 Suspect in Gitmo

Ramzi bin al-Shibh, on hunger strike, wants out of isolation

(Newser) - Defense lawyers are trying to block any attempt to force-feed a Guantanamo Bay prisoner accused of conspiring in the 9/11 attacks, who has stopped eating in protest of his placement in isolation, according to the New York Times . In a legal filing, lawyers say 49-year-old Ramzi bin al-Shibh has been...

Military Judge Allows Info Obtained During Torture

Law expert says it's a break with rules set by Congress

(Newser) - When Congress laid out rules for military tribunals, it decreed that "no statement obtained by the use of torture or by cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, whether or not under color of law, shall be admissible in a military commission." But in what may be a first, a...

Oldest Guantanamo Prisoner Gets Good News

He's been approved for release, though it's not clear when it might happen

(Newser) - A 73-year-old from Pakistan who is the oldest prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center was notified on Monday that he has been approved for release after more than 16 years in custody at the US base in Cuba, his lawyer said. Saifullah Paracha, who has been held on suspicion...

Once-Secret Guantanamo Prison Unit Is Closed

Prisoners moved to another facility on the base

(Newser) - A once-secret unit within the Guantanamo Bay detention center that had fallen into disrepair has been closed and the prisoners moved to another facility on the American base in Cuba, the US military said Sunday. The prisoners at Camp 7 were transferred to a facility adjacent to where the other...

9/11 Trial Pushed to August. But Even That's Unlikely

Pandemic has brought proceedings to a standstill

(Newser) - The trial of five alleged 9/11 plotters is unlikely to begin anytime before the 20th anniversary of the terrorist atrocity. Col. Stephen Keane, the judge who began overseeing the case against the five men earlier this month, has canceled all hearings for the rest of the year, citing pandemic travel...

CIA Psychologists to Face Waterboarded Defendants

James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen must testify in a pretrial hearing in 9/11 case

(Newser) - The trial of five men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks doesn't begin until next year, notes NPR . But a crucial pretrial hearing gets underway this week featuring the two psychologists who designed the harsh interrogation techniques, roundly described as torture, used by the CIA to elicit statements. James...

Per-Prisoner Cost at Gitmo Is Kind of Staggering

Try $13M per year for each individual, reports 'New York Times'

(Newser) - The New York Times has crunched some numbers about Guantanamo Bay to come up with quite a stat: The US spends $13 million per prisoner each year. By the newspaper's numbers, it cost more than $540 million last year to pay for everything involved, including the related war court,...

Pentagon Fires Gitmo Commander
Pentagon Fires
Gitmo Commander
Apr 29, 2019 10:20 AM CDT

Pentagon Fires Gitmo Commander

John Ring is out soon after hosting controversial media visit at Guantanamo

(Newser) - Gitmo is getting a new commander, earlier than expected. The Pentagon has fired Navy Rear Adm. John Ring, citing a "loss of confidence in his ability" to lead, reports the New York Times . Ring had been scheduled to rotate out of the job anyway in June, but he already...

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