Washington said it intends to send two Guantanamo Bay detainees back home to Algeria. The Obama administration made the decision “in consultation with the Congress,” according to a White House spokesperson.
Follow
RT’s day-by-day timeline of the Gitmo hunger strike
The US Defense Department notified Congress on Friday that it plans to repatriate two Guantanamo detainees, White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement.
“We are taking this step in consultation with Congress, and in a responsible manner that protects our national security,” the statement said.
“We continue to call on Congress to join us in supporting these efforts by lifting the current restrictions that significantly limit our ability to transfer detainees out of Guantanamo, even those who have been approved for transfer,” Carney added.
He went on to assure that US President Obama “remains determined” to close the detention facility.
It will be the first repatriation of Guantanamo detainees in
three years, since two other Algerians returned to their home
country in early 2010. Two Uyghurs were also freed and sent to El
Salvador in 2012, although they were not repatriated, as China
still considers the released Uyghurs to be terrorists. One of the
former detainees – along with five other Chinese Muslims released
from Gitmo in 2009 – has been stuck in Palau, his “temporary
resettlement” spot, according to US officials.
Eighty-six of the 166 Guantanamo detainees are still being held
in the US prison, despite being cleared for release.
Sixty-eight Gitmo prisoners are taking part in the ongoing hunger
strike in protest against their indefinite detention, with 44
detainees being force-fed, according to prison officials.