IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Release No: NR-122-14
March 13, 2014
Detainee Transfer Announced
The Department of Defense announced today the transfer of Ahmed Belbacha from the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay to the Government of Algeria.
As directed by the President's Jan. 22, 2009, Executive Order, the interagency Guantánamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of this case. As a result of that review, which examined a number of factors, including security issues, Belbacha was designated for transfer by unanimous consent among the six departments and agencies comprising the task force. In accordance with congressionally-mandated reporting requirements, the administration informed Congress of its intent to transfer this individual.
The United States is grateful to the Government of Algeria for its willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantánamo Bay detention facility. The United States coordinated with the Government of Algeria to ensure this transfer took place with appropriate security and humane treatment assurances.
Today, 154 detainees remain at Guantánamo Bay.
U.S. Department of Defense
I felt guilty for not being on top of the latest status of the prisoners. I had read somewhere an announcement that Obama had released eleven detainees since August, but not whether this signaled a promising momentum for more releases. That news was uplifting but cryptic. What about the 150 or so men remaining? What was the status of the intrepid hunger strike involving nearly a hundred that had commenced a year ago and that had incited such shocking and violent pushback from the military authorities? A recent email from The World Can’t Wait had reminded me it was the 12th anniversary of the Guantanamo gulag. Twelve years!
Close Guantanamo Now/Doctors of the Dark Side
A new lawsuit has been filed detailing the inhumane practices of force feeding that the US is using at Guantanamo. In 2008, we were told that Obama would close Guantanamo. But now, six years later, it is still open and people are still being treated like cattle. Imad Abdullah Hassan, the man behind the suit, was cleared for release in 2009, yet the US refuses to release him. The group Reprive is handling the case. Hassan has gone on hunger strike and this is what happened:
New Lawsuit Describes Force Feeding at Guantanamo
I won't be able to hang around in comments but I wanted to pass along this news release and highlight a couple of related recent Daily Kos dairies.