US announces release of two Pakistanis from Guantanamo prison
Flags hoisted at Camp Justice, on the American base of Guantanamo where the famous prison is located, on the Cuban island, August 29, 2021. (illustration) © Alex Brandon - AP
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Two Pakistani brothers have been released from the US military prison at Guantanamo, the Pentagon announced Thursday, February 3, after 20 years in detention, and have returned to their country.
While former US President Barack Obama had promised to close this prison outside international law and where torture is used, 32 people are still being held in southeastern Cuba.
It was created in 2002 to incarcerate foreigners suspected of terrorism against the United States.
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Abdul Rabbani and Mohammed Rabbani were arrested in 2002 in Pakistan.
They are back in their country after
20 years spent in Guantanamo,
reports our correspondent in Islamamabad
, Sonia Ghezali
.
Abdul Rabbani was one of the longest serving detainees at the Cuban base.
The 55-year-old was accused by US authorities of having worked for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks, among others.
He was 35 when he was arrested in Karachi, southern Pakistan.
His brother had him 33. Mohammed Rabbani would also be at the origin of the recruitment of his eldest.
He was, according to the American authorities, in charge of logistics and finances Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, being also the mastermind of two other important terrorist attacks: one directed against the French oil tanker Limburg in 2002 and the other against the American ship USS Colle in 2000.
He was
allegedly tortured by US intelligence services
.
No information has filtered on any conditions set by Pakistan regarding their return to the country.
The two men were never officially prosecuted by American justice, Guantanamo being a legal loophole.
►
To read also:
Guantanamo or the legacy of torture: 19 years later, neither trial nor closure
Of the Many Prisoners Allowed to be Released… but Never Earned Freedom
A total of 32 prisoners are still incarcerated at Guantanamo.
Among them, 20 have been officially authorized to be released or transferred to another country.
But
the whole difficulty is to find host countries
that agree to receive the ex-prisoners.
The two Pakistani brothers Abdul and Mohammed Rabbani were able to return to their country of origin.
Among the detainees is also Khalid-Sheikh Mohammed, known as "KSM", the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks.
Only two prisoners have been tried and convicted in military courts and nine others are still awaiting trial.
Opened in 2002, in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001, the detention center counted up to nearly 800 detainees: called in particular "enemy combatants
"
by the United States, they suffered ill-treatment and even often tortured without any charges being brought against them.
Like
President Barack Obama before him
, Joe Biden has said he wants to close Guantanamo.
A closure also demanded by UN experts
who denounced a “
site of incessant violations of human rights
”.
Detention at Guantanamo is regularly criticized by NGOs, particularly with regard to the approximately 20 prisoners already authorized to leave the prison.
Here, protesters demand their release, outside the White House in Washington, January 11, 2023, wearing the clothes of the detainees.
Getty Images via AFP - ALEX WONG
►
To read also:
Guantanamo 20 years later: "Still no apology or forgiveness from the American government"
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