Guantanamo: 11 Yemeni Men Freed After 20+ Years Without Charge

Imagine spending over two decades in prison without ever being charged with a crime. This is the reality for 11 Yemeni men who were recently released from the U. S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They were among the last detainees held there since 2002, when the base became a detention site for Muslim men captured during the "war on terror. " The transfer was part of the Biden administration's effort to clear the base of remaining detainees. One of the men, Shaqawi al Hajj, had been on repeated hunger strikes and hospitalizations to protest his 21 years of detention, which included two brutal years in CIA custody. Rights groups and some lawmakers have long pushed for the closure of Guantanamo or the release of detainees who were never charged.

Getting these men released hasn't been easy. Many are from Yemen, a country torn apart by war. The sultanate of Oman, a key U. S. ally, took them in but hasn't officially acknowledged it. Oman has taken in around 30 prisoners in the past, but their fates remain uncertain. Some have returned to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and one Yemeni man died in Oman after being promised repatriation. With this latest transfer, only six never-charged men remain at Guantanamo, along with two convicted inmates and seven others charged with various terror attacks. The story of these 11 men highlights the complexities of the "war on terror" and the ongoing challenges in dealing with detainees.

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