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Detainees at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (© AP/WWP)
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07 November 2005
Four More Detainees Released from Guantanamo Detention Center, November 5, 2005 (Defense Department says three returned to Bahrain, One to Saudi Arabia)
Washington -- Four more detainees have been released or transferred from the detention center at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, naval base to their home countries, the U.S. Defense Department announced.
One detainee was released to Saudi Arabia and three others were transferred to Bahrain, the Pentagon said November 5. The three detainees sent to Bahrain were transferred after an administrative review board examined their cases.
"This movement increases the number of detainees who have departed [Guantanamo] to 256," the announcement said. "There are approximately 500 detainees currently at Guantanamo."
According to the Pentagon, a determination about the continued detention or transfer of a detainee is based on the best information and evidence available at the time.
"The circumstances in which detainees are apprehended can be ambiguous, and many of the detainees are highly skilled in concealing the truth," the Pentagon said.
The Pentagon said it believes more detainees will be released or transferred to their home countries during the course of the War on Terror, but that action will depend on circumstances and continuing administrative reviews of cases.
Of the 256 detainees who have left Guantanamo, 180 were released and 76 transferred to other governments, including Australia, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Sweden, the Pentagon said.
For additional information, see Detainee Issues.
