Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




MILPLEX
Four Afghan Guantanamo detainees repatriated: Pentagon
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Dec 20, 2014


Four Afghans held for more than a decade at Guantanamo Bay have been sent home, the Pentagon said Saturday, edging President Barack Obama closer toward his goal of closing the controversial US military jail.

The Department of Defense said the men -- Shawali Khan, Khi Ali Gul, Abdul Ghani and Mohammed Zahir -- had been moved from the prison after a comprehensive review of their case.

"As a result of that review, which examined a number of factors, including security issues, these men were unanimously approved for transfer by the six departments and agencies comprising the task force," a Pentagon statement said.

The releases come hard on the heels of the transfer of six Guantanamo detainees to start new lives in Uruguay earlier this month.

Obama has vowed to close the jail in Cuba, set up to house terror suspects following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

"This repatriation reflects the Defense Department's continued commitment to closing the detention facility at Guantanamo in a responsible manner," said Paul Lewis, the Pentagon's envoy for the closure of Guantanamo.

The latest transfers leave 132 detainees at Guantanamo Bay, the Pentagon said.

The four men, in their 40s or early 50s, were arrested in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2003. They were initially alleged to have had strong ties to the Taliban or Al-Qaeda.

- 'Terrible treatment' -

However, lawyers have long argued that the evidence against the men is threadbare.

An attorney for Ghani, detained in Kandahar in December 2002, said Saturday his client was a "simple man" sold to US forces for a bounty.

"Ghani should never have been imprisoned in the first place, let alone for more than a decade," said lawyer Barry Wingard, a retired US Air Force lieutenant colonel.

"After many years of terrible treatment at the hands of his captors, Abdul returns to his homeland as innocent as the day he was taken from his family."

Lawyers for Khan, who was handed over to US forces by Afghan warlords in November 2002, complained he had been held on the basis of uncorroborated evidence of a single informant.

"Shawali was sent to Guantanamo on the flimsiest of allegations that were implausible on their face and never properly investigated, and held for 11 years without charge," said Baher Azmy, legal director for the Center for Constitutional Rights.

- Family reunions -

In Kabul, Afghanistan's High Peace Council, the government-created body set up to strengthen relations with insurgents, welcomed the release.

All four men would be reunited with their families in the "near future," the council said, calling for remaining Afghans held at Guantanamo to be released.

A US State Department statement said the release would help forge closer ties with Afghanistan.

"The United States hopes that this transfer is a step forward in strengthening relations between the two countries and can provide an opportunity for greater confidence among Afghans to engage in political dialogue to end the violence in their country," the statement said.

Obama came to power six years ago promising to close Guantanamo but has been frustrated in his efforts by a combination of opposition from Congress and the difficulties involved in finding homes for prisoners who are often unwanted by their home states and/or suspected of involvement in terrorism.

Of the 132 detainees left at Guantanamo, 63 have been cleared for release by the US administration.

About 15 of the men who have not been cleared for release are classified as "high value" detainees.

US law currently bars any transfer of a Guantanamo detainee to the United States for trial or incarceration.

For Guantanamo to be closed, Obama will have to persuade Congress to accept the transfer of this group to US facilities, an unlikely scenario.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
The Military Industrial Complex at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








MILPLEX
Plunging oil price to reset global defence budgets: IHS
London (AFP) Dec 19, 2014
Global defence spending is likely to remain constant for the next two years as tumbling oil prices cut the budgets of Middle East exporters, but swell the coffers of Asia-Pacific importers, defence analysts IHS said Friday. With Brent crude recently falling below the symbolic $60 dollar (48.8 euros) mark - a 50 percent drop since mid-June - the defence budgets of countries in the Middle Ea ... read more


MILPLEX
Moon Express testing compact lunar lander at Kennedy

UK Plans to Drill Into Moon, Explore Feasibility of Manned Base

Carnegie Mellon Unveils Lunar Rover "Andy"

Why we should mine the moon

MILPLEX
NASA, Planetary Scientists Find Meteoritic Evidence of Mars Water Reservoir

Opportunity drives on in no-flash mode

Australian university students aim to generate first 'breathable' air on Mars

Goddard instrument makes first detection of organic matter on Mars

MILPLEX
NASA releases video of Orion spacecraft re-entry from astronaut's perspective

XCOR Announces Further Progress on XCOR Lynx Spacecraft

Russia, US to Cooperate on Orion Spacecraft Modernization

NASA Voyager: 'Tsunami Wave' Still Flies Through Interstellar Space

MILPLEX
China's Long March puts satellite in orbit on 200th launch

Countdown to China's new space programs begins

China develops new rocket for manned moon mission: media

Service module of China's returned lunar orbiter reaches L2 point

MILPLEX
NASA, SpaceX Update Launch of Fifth SpaceX Resupply Mission to ISS

Fifth SpaceX Mission Lets the CATS Out on the International Space Station

Politics no problem, say US and Russian spacefarers

ISS Experiment May Hold Key to Alzheimer's Cause

MILPLEX
Soyuz Installed at Baikonur, Expected to Launch Wednesday

Russian Space Agency Pushes Back Earth Imaging Satellite Launch to Friday

State Spaceports Receive Federal Funding

Arianespace sets new operational benchmarks on its latest Soyuz success

MILPLEX
Kepler Proves It Can Still Find Planets

NASA's Kepler Reborn, Makes First Exoplanet Find of New Mission

Super-Earth spotted by ground-based telescope, a first

Astronomers spot Pluto-size objects swarming about young sun

MILPLEX
Danish radars for new British offshore patrol boats

Breakthrough in predictions of pressure-dependent combustion reactions

Back to future with Roman architectural concrete

Earth's most abundant mineral finally has a name




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.