Gitmo prisoner declines transfer out of prison

Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed Al Sawah was transferred from Guantanamo to the government of Bosnia.

Bawazir is from Yemen and also has family in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates. It once held as many as 779 after being opened in 2002 following the USA invasion of Afghanistan and the launching of President George W. Bush’s “war on terror”.

Al-Suwaydi, 41, was allegedly an al-Qaeda member and explosives trainer, according to his file. Obama has repeatedly pledged to close the facility, but efforts to move detainees to US prisons has met stiff resistance from members of Congress and finding countries willing take the men cleared for release has involved months of negotiations. The government withdrew the charges and decided not to pursue new ones for reasons that have not been made public. The prisoner was kept in a special housing unit away from other prisoners and had reportedly cooperated with authorities. Abd al-Aziz Abduh Abdallah Ali Al-Suwaydi was transferred to the government of Montenegro. At one point, his lawyers feared that he might not survive Guantanamo because of his multiple medical conditions, including his morbid obesity and diabetes. “When people pass him in the street, they will not even notice him”, Remes said.

Defense officials say there is not a particular timeline on when specific detainees will be transferred from Guantanamo, also known as Gitmo, but continue to work toward reducing the prisoner population and ultimately closing the facility. Defense Department memorandums about Al Sawah state he has provided the United States “extensive, in-depth intelligence … regarding explosives, Al Qaida, affiliated entities and their activities”. At the time of this 2008 report, they rated him a medium risk to return to terrorism, noting that he’d be more likely to steer clear of former comrades than seek them out, but that Sawah was still of high value as an intelligence asset. As a result of that review, which examined a number of factors, including security issues Al-Suwaydi was unanimously approved for transfer by the six departments and agencies comprising the task force. And his family agreed to help with his reintegration upon his return.

“And that’s not going to change anytime soon”, Ryan said.

“He’s always been very emotional”, Chandler said.