Guantanamo Review Task Force

Guantanamo Review Task Force report of 2010-01-22, made public 2010-05-28

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The Guantanamo Review Task Force was created by Executive Order 13492 issued by President of the United States Barack Obama on January 22, 2009, his second full day in office. United States Attorney General Eric Holder announced Matthew G. Olsen as Executive Director of the task force on February 20, 2009. The task force was charged with determining which Guantánamo detainees can be transferred (released), which can be prosecuted for crimes they may have committed, and, if neither of those is possible, recommending other lawful means for disposition of the detainees.^[1]

The task force was an inter-agency task force, with the U.S. Department of Justice coordinating the efforts of officials from the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of State, and the Department of Homeland Security. The final report was issued January 22, 2010,^[2] but not publicly released until May 28, 2010. The Washington Post reported that the "administration sat on the report in the wake of the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day because there was little public or congressional appetite for further discussion of its plan to close the military detention center."^[3]

Of the 240 detainees considered, the report recommended that 126 detainees should be transferred to their home country or to another country that was willing to accept them, 36 be prosecuted in either federal court or a military commission, 48 be held indefinitely under the laws of war and 30 Yemenis should be approved for transfer if security conditions in Yemen improved.^[3][4][5] As of January 2016, 93 detainees remain at Guantanamo.^[6]

Congressional Representative Frank Wolf criticized the task force claiming it was subjected to political interference from the White House.^[5]

Publication of the names of the cleared

On September 21, 2012, the United States Department of Justice published a list of the names of 55 Guantanamo captives who had been cleared for release.^[7][8][9] Danica Coto of the Associated Press reported that the publication of the names surprised human rights workers who had been seeking this information through Freedom of Information Act requests

Carol Rosenberg, writing in the Miami Herald, reported that State Department officials had confirmed a 56 man's name had been left off the list, even though he too had been cleared for release, because his name was under seal.^[10] She reported that now that the captives's names have been published, the secrecy agreement their lawyers signed would no longer prevent them from contacting third countries to seek asylum themselves.

Fausto Biloslavo, writing in the Italian newspaper Il Giornale told his readers about six Guantanamo captives, who had lived in Italy, and might be transferred to Italy.^[9] Those six men were Al Khadr Abdallah Muhammad Al-Yafi, Adel Bin Ahmed Bin Ibrahim Hkiml, Ridah Bin Saleh al-Yazidi, Yunis Abdurrahman Shokuri, Abdul Bin Mohammed Bin Abess Ourgy, and Bensayah Belkacem.

References

1. ↑ "Attorney General Appoints Executive Director to Lead New Task Force on Review of Guantanamo Bay Detainees". U. S. Department of Justice. February 20, 2009. Retrieved July 21, 2010. 
2. ↑ Finn, Peter (January 22, 2010). "Justice task force recommends about 50 Guantanamo detainees be held indefinitely". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2015-05-19. Retrieved July 21, 2010. 
3. 1 2 Finn, Peter (May 29, 2010). "Most Guantanamo detainees low-level fighters, task force report says". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2015-05-19. Retrieved July 21, 2010. 
4. ↑ Worthington, Andy (June 11, 2010). "Does Obama Really Know or Care About Who Is at Guantánamo?". Retrieved July 21, 2010. 
5. 1 2 Frank R. Wolf (2011-07-15). "IN OPPOSITION TO THE PRESIDENT'S NOMINATION OF MATHEW OLSEN TO LEAD THE NATIONAL COUNTERTERRORISM CENTER". Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved 2011-11-18. During an April 22, 2009, meeting in my office with members of the Guantanamo Bay Detainee Review Task Force, including Mr. Olsen, I inquired about the status of the potential transfer of Uighur detainees to the United States.  mirror
6. ↑ Domonoske, Camila (2016-01-14). "With Latest Transfers, Guantanamo Now Holds Fewer Than 100 Detainees". NPR. Retrieved 2016-01-14. 
7. ↑ Danica Coto (2012-09-21). "U.S. releases list of Guantanamo detainees cleared for transfer". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. The U.S. Justice Department has made public the names of 55 Guantanamo prisoners who have been approved for transfer to the custody of other countries, releasing information sought by human rights organizations. The announcement, which reverses a 2009 decision, was a surprise to organizations that had filed FOIA requests seeking the information. 
8. ↑ "US releases names of 55 Guantanamo detainees approved for transfer". freedetainees.org. 2012-09-23. Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. 
9. 1 2 Fausto Biloslavo (2012-09-23). "Quei reclusi di Guantanamo che possiamo trovarci in casa" [Those inmates from Guantanamo that we can find in the house]. Il Giornale. Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. 
10. ↑ Carol Rosenberg (2012-09-21). "U.S. names 55 Guantánamo captives cleared for release". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. 
11. ↑ "Current Guantanamo Bay Detainee-Petitioners Approved For Transfer (Sept. 21, 2012)" (PDF). Department of Justice. 2012-09-21. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-09-23. 
12. ↑ The chart does not include any current Guantanamo Bay detainees approved for transfer whose transfer status is protected by sealed orders issued by the Court of Appeals.

External links

• Frieden, Terry (January 22, 2010). "Groups slam Obama panel's plan to hold some Guantanamo detainees". CNN. Retrieved October 25, 2011. 
• "Executive Order 13492". The American Presidency Project. January 22, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2011.