Pentagon Confirms Repatriation Of Guantanamo Prisoner To Algeria - Statement

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2023) The Pentagon confirmed on Thursday the repatriation of a Guantanamo detainee to Algeria.

"The Department of Defense announced today the repatriation of Said bin Brahim bin Umran Bakush (ISN 685) from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the Government of Algeria," the Pentagon said.

Last April, US authorities decided that Bakush is eligible to be transferred because he no longer represented a threat to national security, the statement noted. In February 2023, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin notified Congress of his intent to repatriate Bakush to Algeria, it added.

"Today, 30 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay: 16 are eligible for transfer; 3 are eligible for a Periodic Review Board; 9 are involved in the military commissions process; and 2 detainees have been convicted in military commissions," the statement said.

The New York Times reported earlier,� that Bakush, 52-, was one of 20 suspected low-level fighters, who were captured by Pakistani forces in the city of Faisalabad in 2002 and taken to Guantanamo Bay.