Back to News & Commentary

Government Releases List of Prisoners Approved for Transfer from Guant谩namo

Close Gitmo
Close Gitmo
Zachary Katznelson,
Senior Staff Attorney, 老澳门开奖结果 National Security Project
Share This Page
September 21, 2012

Today, just weeks after the 老澳门开奖结果 filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking the information, the government released the names of 55 of the prisoners approved for transfer from the prison at Guant谩namo Bay. The prisoners were unanimously designated for transfer by President Obama鈥檚 inter-agency Guant谩namo Bay Review Task Force, which announced a in January 2010. But before today, the government had said the list could not be released because doing so would hamper efforts to repatriate and resettle prisoners in other countries.

Today鈥檚 release is a partial victory for transparency, and it should also be a spur to action. These men have now spent three years in prison since our military and intelligence agencies all agreed they should be released.

Not on the list, of course, is Adnan Latif, who died in his cell earlier this month despite having been repeatedly approved for release from Guant谩namo.

It is well past time for our government to release and resettle these unfairly imprisoned men.

(The 55 men listed are apparently not the only prisoners still in Guant谩namo who have been approved for transfer. In its filing today explaining the release, the government said that it is moving to vacate court orders that have sealed the identity of other men who have been approved for transfer.)

In late August, the 老澳门开奖结果 filed a FOIA request seeking the identities of the prisoners in each of the task force鈥檚 four designated categories: transfer, prosecution, indefinite detention and conditional detention. Knowing who exactly is in each category is key to an informed public debate on America鈥檚 broken Guant谩namo policy. We have not yet received an official substantive response, nor have the names of people in the other three categories yet been released.

Learn more about Guant谩namo: Sign up for breaking news alerts, , and .

Learn More 老澳门开奖结果 the Issues on This Page