The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced Dec. 11 the transfer of Mohammed Farik bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir bin Lep from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. According to DoD detainee profiles, bin Amin and bin Lep arrived at Guantanamo in September 2006. The US accused the individuals of planning attacks in California and facilitating terrorist operations in Southeast Asia. Both men pled guilty to several offenses.

During detention, bin Amin and bin Lep provided information against an individual accused of committing an attack in Bali, Indonesia, in 2002. The two men provided the information in exchange for their transfer to a third-party nation where they will serve their sentences. Malaysia agreed to accept both detainees.

On Dec. 17, the DoD also announced the release of Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu. Kenyan authorities detained Bajabu in February 2007 following the November 2002 attacks on an Israeli-owned hotel and a civilian airliner owned by an Israel-based company in Mombasa. He was transferred to Guantanamo Bay and US custody in March 2007.

DoD officials accused Bajabu of working on behalf of al-Qaeda in East Africa. However, no charges were filed against him. In December 2021, a Periodic Review Board (PRB) determined that his continued detention "was no longer necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the national security of the United States." US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin approved Bajabu's transfer to Kenya in November 2024.

In 2011, President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13567, mandating a periodic review of the individuals detained in Guantanamo Bay. The review is conducted by a PRB, which determines if the detainee's continued confinement "is necessary to protect against a significant threat to the security of the United States." With the transfer of the three men, 27 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay. Fifteen of those detainees are eligible for transfer, and three are eligible for a PRB.

A recent report from the UN Human Rights Council described the conditions at Guantanamo Bay as "worrying" and called for its immediate closure. President Joe Biden announced his intent to close Guantanamo Bay in February 2021. Since then, the Biden administration has announced no further plans on closing the detention facility.

From JURIST, Dec. 18. Used with permission.

Note: In the 22 years the detention center has been operating, a total of 780 prisoners have been held there.

See our last report on the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing and the 2007 Mombassa attacks.