US repatriates Guantanamo detainee to Tunisia

The United States has repatriated Ridah Bin Saleh al-Yazidi, one of the remaining detainees at the Guantanamo Bay military prison, to Tunisia, the Defense Department announced Monday according to AFP.

Al-Yazidi, among the first prisoners sent to the controversial facility, in 2002 under President George W. Bush, was deemed eligible for transfer following a rigorous interagency review process. The move was coordinated with Tunisian authorities, the Pentagon said. With his departure, only 26 detainees remain at Guantanamo- on the eastern tip of Cuba- down from a peak of around 800. Of those, 14 are eligible for transfer.

Opened after the 9/11 attacks as part of the Bush administration’s "war on terror," Guantanamo has faced international condemnation for alleged torture and human rights abuses. UN experts have labeled it a site of “unparalleled notoriety.” Despite President Joe Biden’s campaign pledge to close the facility, it remains operational, drawing ongoing criticism from rights groups and the international community.