Interior Ministry to receive 4 Yemeni detainees from Guantanamo

In this file photo, Al-Qaeda and Taliban detainees sit in a holding area under the surveillance of US military police at Camp X-Ray at Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Of 19 prisoners released by the US government on Wednesday, four Yemenis were received by Saudi Arabia to undergo rehabilitation. (AFP file)

JEDDAH: The Interior Ministry on Thursday said King Salman has issued a directive to the relevant authorities to receive four Yemeni detainees from Guantanamo, who arrived in the Kingdom on Thursday.
The four prisoners were transferred from the Guantanamo Bay military prison in President Barack Obama’s final push to shrink the inmate population there despite pressure from President-elect Donald Trump to halt such releases.
In a statement, the Interior Ministry said the King’s directive was in addition to previous royal gesture in response to a request by Yemen President Abed Rabu Mansour Hadi to host nine Yemeni detainees from Guantanamo, whose families are residents of the Kingdom.
The families requested Saudi Arabia to host the prisoners, citing the ongoing war in Yemen.
The ministry added that they have informed the detainees' families and will facilitate a meeting bringing them together, adding that the prisoners will be subject to the kingdom’s governing laws and regulations and will undergo rehabilitation programs at Mohammed Bin Naif Center for Advice, Counseling and Care.
The US government has also sent some prisoners to Italy, Oman and the United Arab Emirates in a final flurry of transfers before Donald Trump is sworn in on as president on Jan. 20.
If the final transfers go according to plan, only about 40 prisoners will remain at Guantanamo, despite Obama’s pledge to close the controversial facility at the US naval base in Cuba.
The Republican president-elect has vowed, however, to keep the Guantanamo military prison open and “load it up with some bad dudes.”
The Obama administration notified Congress last month of its intention to make the additional transfers, Reuters has reported. Those being transferred make up the bulk of the 23 prisoners declared in parole-style hearings to be safe for repatriation or resettlement in other countries.