November 16, 2015•Update: November 16, 2015
WASHINGTON
The U.S. says it has transferred five Guantanamo Bay prisoners to the United Arab Emirates.
In a statement on Sunday, the Pentagon identified the transferred prisoners as: Ali Ahmad Muhammad al-Razihi; Khalid Abd-al-Jabbar Muhammad Uthman al-Qadasi; Adil Said al-Hajj Ubayd al-Busays; Sulayman Awad Bin Uqayl al-Nahdi; and Fahmi Salem Said al-Asani.
"Al-Qadasi, al-Busays, al-Nahdi, and al-Asani were unanimously approved for transfer by the six departments and agencies comprising the task force [Guantanamo Review Task Force],” spokesman Peter Cook confirmed.
The removal of prisoners by the U.S. forms parts of a 2009 directive by President Barack Obama who has said he wants to close the controversial facility.
With respect to transfer of Razihi, Cook noted that the Periodic Review Board determined that a continued review of his incarceration was not necessary as he no longer poses "a threat to the security of the United States".
The review board administers the procedure for recommending whether certain people held at Guantanamo are safe to be released or transferred.
The prison was established in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States.
With these transfers, 107 detainees now remain at Guantanamo Bay after a high of almost 800 prisoners, according to the Pentagon.
The U.S. transferred 17 detainees to Oman in June, three others to Qatar in April, one to Morocco and one to Saudi Arabia in September and one to Mauritania last month.
