Six prisoners transferred from Guantanamo to Oman

The United States has transferred six Yemeni prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba to Oman for resettlement.

In a statement issued 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 Pentagon added that the US had 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 departures from controversial Cuba prison were the first for six months, after five Yemeni inmates were releases from Guantanamo on January 15, six years after they had been cleared for release.

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

Guantanamo Bay prison opened around 13 years ago to hold suspected terror suspects after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre and human rights groups have criticised it as a “legal black hole” where inmates languish for years without facing a court trial. US President Barack Obama promised to close Guantanamo Bay during his 2008 election campaign. Although he has failed to do so, he has managed to cut the number of inmates by half. Friday’s transfers bring the number of Guantanamo detainees down to 116.