TEMPO.CO, Washington - The United States Defense Department publicly announced it has a list of 46 prisoners being held at the Guantanamo Bay prison who will be held indefinitely. These prisoners are considered to be too dangerous to release even though the US is unable to prosecute them due to lack of evidence.
These names were revealed by the Pentagon in response to a freedom of information request made by the Miami Herald along with a group of students from Yale University at the Washington District Court.
Although Washington did not announce the details of the list, some names are included such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the Pakistani who was held on trial for the September 11 attack, and alleged Indonesian terrorist leader Hambali.
In a 2010 report released by the Pentagon, 48 prisoners were deemed too dangerous to release. On the list were 26 Yemenis, 12 Afghans, three Saudis, two Kuwaitis, two Libyans, a Kenyan, a Moroccan and a Somali. However, two of the Afghans died, one from suicide, the other from a heart attack, after the list was compiled.
This announcement enraged human rights activists across the nation who consider indefinite detainment without the right to a trial as a serious human rights violation.
Director of Amnesty International’s security and human rights program Zeke Johnson, condemned this and said, "Under international human rights law, all of the detainees should either be charged and fairly tried in federal court, or released."
US President Barack Obama previously said he would appoint a team to conduct a periodic review to evaluate the status of these detainees but he has not kept this promise yet. The same goes for his 2008 presidency campaign where he promised to shut down the Guantanamo prison. However, he has appointed Clifford Sloan, a veteran Washington lawyer, to work as its envoy to negotiate the repatriation or resettlement of 86 prisoners who have been cleared for transfer or release.
AL-JAZEERA | BBC | RAJU FEBRIAN
