Abdul Latif Nasir, a native of Morocco, has been held at U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba since May 2002 without charge.
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
WASHINGTON DC – The Biden Department of Defense announced Monday that Abdul Latif Nasir has been transferred out of the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba to The Kingdom of Morocco. Nasir, 56, a native of Morocco, had been held at Guantánamo Bay since 2002 without charge. In 2016, the Periodic Review Board (PRB) process determined that law of war detention of Nasir no longer remained necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the national security of the United States, according to the Pentagon.
“Therefore, the PRB recommended that Nasir be authorized for repatriation to his native country of Morocco, subject to security and humane treatment assurances. The steps necessary to effectuate the repatriation were unable to be completed prior to the end of the Obama administration.” the Pentagon said in a statement.
President Biden Pledges To Close Notorious GITMO, Cuba Military Prison
The entrance to Camp 1 in Guantanamo Bay’s Camp Delta. (Wikipedia Kathleen T. Rhem)
Today, 39 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay. The prison houses some of the world’s most notable suspected terrorists, including 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammad. In 2002, Nasir was arrested in Afghanistan by Pakistani agents as part of the Bush so-called “war on terror” against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban which he was suspected of fighting for the two groups. The US then transferred to Guantanamo Bay and he became prisoner 244 at the maximum-security facility in Cuba. Nasir reportedly was subjected to torture and coercion like many other detainees during the administration of George W. Bush.
President Trump Signed Executive Order To keep GITMO Open and to “load it up with some bad dudes”
Although the PRB cleared Nasir be released in 2016, Trump after becoming U.S. President, made it clear Nasir would remain in prison. In January 2018, President Trump President Trump signed an executive order to keep open the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, after pledging during the campaign to “load it up with some bad dudes.”
Trump’s order revoked one issued by President Obama in his first days in office that called for the facility to close, which had been a key Obama campaign promise.
“The United States commends the Kingdom of Morocco for its long-time partnership in securing both countries’ national security interests. The United States is also extremely grateful for the Kingdom’s willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility,” the Pentagon said in a statement Monday.
The Center For Victims Of Torture Praises Nasir’s Transfer out of GITMO
“Mr. Nasser’s transfer is a much welcome step towards closing the Guantánamo prison, and hopefully will allow him to begin to heal and reclaim his life after 19 years of injustice. The Biden administration needs to follow his transfer with swift and decisive action. Guantánamo is the iconic example of United States’ post-9/11 disregard for human rights and the rule of law; closing it is necessary to ending the forever war, as the president has pledged to do,”
-said Scott Roehm, Center For Victims of Torture Washington director.
Many of the 39 men still remaining at Guantánamo are torture survivors : CVT
“Some were disappeared at CIA “black sites” before being sent to Guantánamo (as documented in the executive summary of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s 2014 report on the CIA’s so-called “enhanced interrogation” program). Some were tortured at Guantanamo (as documented in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s 2008 report on the treatment of detainees in U.S.” – CVT
