Six US government agencies, including the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, have cleared 23 of the current detainees for release. These include some that the US admits were cases of mistaken identity, such as Mustafa al Shamiri, captured at 16 or 17 yet assessed to be a “a senior trainer at the al-Faruq Training Camp as well as an al-Qaida guesthouse logistician.”

The six agencies said he should be released and acknowledged in September 2015 that the intelligence about him was wrong. Abdul Zahir was also deemed a case of mistaken identity in July 2016, after nearly 14 years in captivity. Zahir was detained during a raid intended to capture someone else, at a place where chemical or biological agents were believed to be stored. The agents were in fact benign substances.

The US detains the remaining 26 without charge but claims they are “too dangerous” to release. Because the government has failed to provide these detainees with a meaningful ability to challenge their detentions, the grounds for these claims are largely a secret. If these individuals violated the law they should be prosecuted in courts that meet fair trial standards – otherwise they should be released.

Even if Trump doesn’t care about these people and their families, or basic principles of fair legal process, he should care about the risk that the Guantanamo detentions pose to US national security.

Guantanamo is a potent symbol of injustice and torture that feeds into terrorist propaganda and is a powerful recruitment tool for extremist armed groups. That’s why numerous national security leaders have called for closing it. Trump should listen to them. 

—

laura_pitter_web_0*AUTHOR: Laura Pitter, Senior National Security Counsel, US Program

Laura Pitter‘s article has been published in Human Rights Watch. Go to Original. 

.

.

**Photo: Detainees upon arrival at Camp X-Ray, January 2002 | Original caption:“Detainees in orange jumpsuits sit in a holding area under the watchful eyes of Military Police at Camp X-Ray at Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during in-processing to the temporary detention facility on Jan. 11, 2002. The detainees will be given a basic physical exam by a doctor, to include a chest x-ray and blood samples drawn to assess their health. DoD photo by Petty Officer 1st class Shane T. McCoy, U.S. Navy.” |  Author: Shane T. McCoy, U.S. Navy | Public Domain | Wikimedia Commons: “This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.“

2017 Human Wrongs Watch