Uncle Sam’s Eternal Gua-Gulag: US Continues to Imprison Dozens of Yemenis Cleared or Never Charged

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http://www.juancole.com/2014/04/continues-imprison-cleared.html

Uncle Sam’s Eternal Gua-Gulag: US Continues to Imprison Dozens of Yemenis Cleared or Never Charged
By Juan Cole | Apr. 13, 2014
(Human Rights Watch)

(Washington, DC) – The US should expedite the return of Yemeni detainees cleared for release from Guantanamo Bay, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to President Barack Obama. Human Rights Watch released a video showing the plight of families of Yemeni detainees. All Guantanamo detainees should be returned or resettled, or charged and prosecuted in US federal courts.

Obama imposed a moratorium on returning Guantanamo detainees to Yemen after the arrest of the “Christmas Day bomber,” who had trained in the country. Although he lifted the moratorium in May 2013, no Yemeni has been returned, and currently 56 of the 76 Guantanamo detainees recommended for transfer are Yemeni.

“President Obama lifted his moratorium on returns to Yemen nearly a year ago, yet the Yemenis OK’d for release remained trapped in Guantanamo largely because of their nationality,” said Andrea Prasow, senior national security counsel at Human Rights Watch. “If the president truly intends to close Guantanamo, he needs to repatriate the Yemenis, some of whom were cleared more than four years ago.”

On his second full day in office, Obama pledged to close the Guantanamo detention center, and reiterated that commitment in his 2014 State of the Union address. Yet 154 men remain in Guantanamo, including 88 Yemenis. The return of Yemeni detainees, most of whom have never been charged, is an essential component of any plan to close the detention facility, Human Rights Watch said.