Six Yemeni inmates sent from Guantanamo prison to Oman

Detainees transferred to Oman for resettlement as part of US plan to close controversial prison.

The resettlement follows the release of another five Yemeni inmates on January 15 from Guantanamo [AP]

The United States says it has sent another six Yemeni detainees from its controversial Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba to Oman for resettlement.

In a statement issued late on Friday, the Pentagon said it had transferred Idris Ahmad Abd Al Qadir Idris, Sharaf Ahmad Muhammad Masud, Jalal Salam Awad Awad, Saad Nasser Moqbil Al Azani, Emad Abdallah Hassan and Muhammad Ali Salem Al Zarnuki from the detention facility.

“As directed by the president’s January 22, 2009, executive order, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted comprehensive reviews of each of these cases,” the statement said.

“As a result of that review process, which examined a number of factors, including security issues, these men were unanimously approved for transfer by the six departments and agencies comprising the task force.”

The statement said the US coordinated with the Omani government to ensure the transfers took place in a way that was “consistent with appropriate security and humane treatment measures”.

The resettlement follows the release of five Yemeni inmates on January 15 from Guantanamo, at least six years after they were cleared for release.

Four of those inmates were sent to Oman, while one was sent to Estonia, the first time either nation had accepted Guantanamo prisoners for resettlement.

Friday’s transfer of the six men leaves 116 inmates at the remote prison, more than 13 years after it opened and seven years after President Barack Obama promised to close it.

The prison was set up to hold alleged terror suspects after the September 11, 2001, attacks, but human rights groups have condemned the jail as a “legal black hole”, where inmates languish for years without being tried in court.