Washington, April 3 (BNA) An Algerian who had been imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay for nearly 20 years was released and returned to his homeland.
The Ministry of Defense announced, on Saturday, the return of Sofiane Barhoumi to his homeland with assurances from the Algerian government that he will be treated humanely there, and that security measures will be imposed to reduce the risks of his exposure to danger in the future.
The Pentagon did not provide details about those security measures, which could include travel restrictions, the Associated Press reports.
Barhoumi was captured in Pakistan and transferred to the US base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2002. The US eventually determined that he was involved with various extremist groups but that he was not a member of al-Qaeda or the Taliban, according to a report from a prison review committee that agreed to Released in 2016.
US authorities attempted to prosecute Barhoumi in 2008, but that attempt was dropped amid legal challenges to the initial version of the military commissions system established under President George W. Bush.
In the closing days of Barack Obama’s presidency in January 2017, a federal judge in Washington refused to interfere with the Pentagon’s decision not to repatriate Barhoumi,
His lawyer said he was expecting his client to be released and that the prisoner’s family had begun preparing for his return, including buying a car and a small restaurant for him to run.
The Justice Department said then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter refused to release Barhoumi on January 12, 2017, “based on a variety of material concerns, shared by multiple agencies,” without elaborating.
Barhoumi, who lost four fingers in a landmine explosion in Afghanistan, offered to plead guilty to any charges in 2012 hoping to get a firm sentence and return to his elderly mother, according to his attorney, Shayana Kadial of the Constitutional Center. rights.
“Our government owes Sofiane and his mother years of age,” Kadyal said. “I am thrilled that he is going home with his family, but I will sorely miss his good sense of humor and empathy for the suffering of others in the utterly depressing environment of Guantánamo.”
Efforts to resettle prisoners have weakened under President Donald Trump. The Biden administration is once again trying to reduce the number of men held at Guantanamo as part of a broader effort to shut down the facility.
Barhoumi’s release brings the total number of detainees at the US base in Cuba to 37, including 18 who were deemed eligible for repatriation or resettlement to a third country.