The United States has repatriated Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu, a Kenyan national who had been held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility (GTMO) in Cuba.
Bajabu was handed over to Kenyan authorities on Tuesday, December 17, and was later reunited with his family in Mombasa.
Bajabu was detained as part of U.S. investigations into terrorism following the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Despite being held for 17 years, he was never formally charged in a court of law.
His release came after the Periodic Review Board (PRB) determined in December 2021 that his continued detention was no longer necessary.
The PRB, which evaluates detainees’ threats to national security, cleared his release.
In November 2023, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin notified Congress of the decision to transfer Bajabu to Kenya.
Mark Maher, a staff attorney for the human rights group Reprieve US, who represented Bajabu, stated that his client had never been charged during his detention.
Bajabu was initially arrested in Mombasa in February 2007, suspected of being a facilitator for al Qaeda in East Africa, and was subsequently transferred to Guantanamo Bay.
His detention raised significant legal and human rights concerns, particularly regarding the prolonged detention without trial.
In Kenya, human rights activists filed a constitutional petition in 2007 to challenge Bajabu’s rendition.
This petition is scheduled for mention in February 2025, nearly 18 years after it was first lodged.
The most recent detainee transfer from Guantanamo took place in April 2023, when a 72-year-old al Qaeda associate was sent to Algeria after more than 20 years of detention.
According to Pentagon records, 29 detainees remain at the facility, with 15 eligible for transfer as part of ongoing diplomatic negotiations or changes in U.S. policy.
The remaining detainees are linked to the 9/11 attacks, and their cases remain unresolved.
While previous U.S. administrations, including President Joe Biden’s, have pledged to close Guantanamo Bay, the facility continues to operate.
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