Guantanamo Bay

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All Migrants Moved Out of Guantanamo

Officials say 178 Venezuelans left naval base on Thursday, with 177 transferred to Venezuela

(Newser) - The Trump administration has apparently emptied Guantanamo Bay of migrants, weeks after President Trump issued an order for a detention facility at the base to be expanded to hold up to 30,000 people. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said Thursday that 177 migrants had been transferred to...

Opinion: For Guantanamo Migrants, Abuse Is 'Guaranteed'
'Abuse at
Guantanamo
Is Guaranteed'
OPINION
Feb 7, 2025 11:48 AM CST

'Abuse at Guantanamo Is Guaranteed'

Children will be among the victims in this 'nightmare,' writes Spencer Ackerman

(Newser) - As President Trump signed an executive order to expand the Migrant Operations Center at Guantanamo Bay to "full capacity" on Wednesday, it was "like seeing a nightmare I've had for years manifest before my eyes," writes Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Spencer Ackerman. Ackerman, who's attended...

US Begins Flying Migrants to Guantanamo Bay

US has been erecting a tent city at the base in Cuba to temporarily hold people

(Newser) - The first two military flights taking migrants detained in the US to the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba have taken off, reports the Wall Street Journal . It's part of President Trump's plan to dramatically ramp up the base's ability to temporarily house migrants. The New York ...

Trump to Send Up to 30K Migrants to Guantanamo Bay

'It's a tough place to get out of,' he says

(Newser) - Only around 15 people are currently detained at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, but that number could soon be going up 2,000-fold. President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to prepare a facility to detain 30,000 migrants at the base on Cuba's south coast, the BBC reports. "...

Guantanamo Is Now Down to 15 Inmates

11 were moved to Oman on Monday; 3 others remain eligible for transfer

(Newser) - There are just 15 inmates left at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, the smallest number "at any time in its more than 20-year history," after 11 were transferred to Oman early Monday, per the New York Times . All 11 transferred men hail from Yemen, were captured...

Court Rules 9/11 Plea Deals Will Stand

Defense chief Lloyd Austin tried to nullify deals for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, 2 other Gitmo prisoners

(Newser) - A military appeals court has ruled against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's effort to throw out the plea deals reached for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants in the 9/11 attacks, a US official said. The decision puts back on track the agreements that would have the three men...

Man Held at Guantanamo Since Opening Day Is Released

There are now 26 detainees

(Newser) - A fourth prisoner was repatriated from Guantanamo Bay in December, bringing the total number of detainees to 26 from what CBS News reports was a peak of 800 prisoners. The New York Times reports that Ridah Bin Saleh al Yazidi had been held in the prison since its very first...

3 More Guantanamo Detainees Repatriated

There are 27 detainees remaining, including 15 who are awaiting release

(Newser) - The US has transferred two Malaysian detainees at the Guantanamo Bay US military prison to their home country, after they pleaded guilty to charges related to deadly 2002 bombings in Bali and agreed to testify against the alleged ringleader of that and other attacks, the Pentagon said Wednesday. The transfers...

Plea Deal for Alleged 9/11 Mastermind Revived

Judge voids defense secretary's attempt to toss his deal, and his co-defendants' deals

(Newser) - A military judge has ruled that plea agreements struck by alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants are valid, voiding an order by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to throw out the deals, a government official said Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the order...

Pentagon Announces Plea Deal With 9/11 Plotter
Austin Revokes 9/11
Plea Deals After Backlash
UPDATED
Aug 3, 2024 7:00 AM CDT

Austin Revokes 9/11 Plea Deals After Backlash

Defense chief places himself in charge of case against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, others

(Newser) - The death penalty may be back on the table for alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two accused accomplices after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday revoked their deals to plead guilty made earlier this week, following backlash from some families of 9/11 victims, GOP lawmakers, and the New...

Torture Made 9/11 Defendant Delusional, Psychotic: Panel

Judge will rule on whether he can still stand trial

(Newser) - A military medical panel has concluded that one of the five 9/11 defendants held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base has been rendered delusional and psychotic by the torture he underwent years ago while in CIA custody, the AP reports. The findings heighten uncertainty over whether Ramzi bin al-Shibh, who...

For USS Cole Victims' Families, Justice Is a Long Time Coming

17 Americans died in 2000; the trial has yet to begin

(Newser) - Eleven months before the 9/11 attacks came al-Qaeda's attack on the USS Cole in the port of Aden, Yemen. Seventeen sailors died. It would be two years before Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri was arrested for allegedly organizing the bombing—and more than two decades later, his trial has yet to...

She Made a First-of-Its-Kind Visit to Guantanamo
She Made a
First-of-Its-Kind
Visit to Guantanamo
the rundown
Jun 28, 2023 9:55 AM CDT

She Made a First-of-Its-Kind Visit to Guantanamo

Independent UN monitor was permitted to visit the detention center

(Newser) - Since its 2002 opening, no UN human rights investigators had been permitted to visit Guantanamo Bay. That changed in February, when Irish law professor Fionnuala Ni Aolain was granted access—and what she found was "cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment." The UN special rapporteur spent four days at...

Gitmo Detainee Mentioned in Pre-9/11 Memo Returned to Saudi Arabia

Ghassan al-Sharbi was held for more than 20 years without trial

(Newser) - The inmate population at Guantanamo Bay now stands at 31—down from 35 a few weeks ago—with the repatriation of a 48-year-old Saudi prisoner. Ghassan al-Sharbi was held at the base in Cuba for more than 20 years without trial. Al-Sharbi, who allegedly traveled to Afghanistan in August 2001...

Brothers Freed After 19 Years at Guantanamo Bay

Pakistani brothers were never charged with a crime during years in US custody

(Newser) - Two Pakistani brothers held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay military prison for two decades were freed by US officials and returned home on Friday, officials said. They will be reunited with their families after formal questioning by Pakistani authorities, according to security officials and a Pakistani senator. Pakistan...

Gitmo's Oldest Prisoner Goes Home
Gitmo's
Oldest
Prisoner
Goes Home
Oct 30, 2022 9:15 AM CDT

Gitmo's Oldest Prisoner Goes Home

Saifullah Paracha, 75, was held for 2 decades though never charged

(Newser) - Saifullah Paracha no longer has the distinction of being the oldest prisoner at Guantanamo Bay. The US has released the 75-year-old back to his native Pakistan, reports NBC News . The former businessman had been held for 20 years by the US on suspicion of ties to al-Qaeda leaders including...

Jan. 6 Defendants Really Don't Like the DC Jail

They've asked a court to transfer them to Guantanamo Bay

(Newser) - A group of Jan. 6 defendants awaiting trial in the District of Columbia jail have asked to be transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where they say the detention facility "actually provides nutritious meals … sunlight exposure, top-notch medical care, is respectful of religious requirements, [and] has centers for exercise/entertainment....

Gitmo 'Forever Prisoner' Cleared for Release

Khalid Ahmed Qasim was held for more than 20 years without being charged

(Newser) - Khalid Ahmed Qasim, aka Prisoner 242, has been cleared for release after spending almost half his life detained without charge at Guantanamo Bay. Human rights organization Reprieve says the 45-year-old Yemeni national was taken into custody in Afghanistan in Dec. 2001 and brought to the American base in May 2002,...

Alleged 9/11 Plotters Present List of Demands

It's part of plea agreement talks as their cases drag on in military court

(Newser) - Possible plea agreements could include life sentences for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his four alleged accomplices if they were to admit to carrying out the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Plea agreement negotiations are unfolding at Guantanamo Bay, with defendants pushing to have execution taken off the table, the New York Times...

After 20 Years, Suspected '20th Hijacker' Leaves Gitmo

Mohammad Ahmad al-Qahtani has been flown back to Saudi Arabia

(Newser) - A Saudi prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center who was suspected of trying to join the 9/11 hijackers has been sent back to his home country for treatment for mental illness, the Department of Defense said Monday. Mohammad Ahmad al-Qahtani was flown to Saudi Arabia, to a treatment facility,...

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