Beyond the legal and political arguments surrounding the Supreme Court decision on the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, there is the practical reality of how many of the prisoners got there, and where they will wind up after the camp is emptied.
Some are, of course, high-value prisoners who will be tried for war crimes and terrorism. But the overwhelming majority will be repatriated – as they have been in the past.
About 780 detainees have been held at Guantanamo Bay since the facility opened more than six years ago. Almost all were apprehended in Afghanistan or in Pakistan near the Afghan border.
Since then, most have been transferred to their homeland or released, and the facility now houses about 270 detainees.
Surprisingly, the largest contingents are not from states most associated with al-Qaida. There are a few Saudis, a few Pakistanis, perhaps a few Egyptians.
The largest contingent consists of “about 100 Yemeni nationals,” says the Pentagon. In addition, there are “about 30 Afghan nationals, about 25 Algerian nationals and – the biggest surprise – 17 Uyghurs, Muslim natives of western China. All the other nationalities are single digit groups. Uiyghurs live in what they call East Turkistan but what the Chinese call Xingyiang in far western China.
Beyond the high-value prisoners, why are so many detainees still at Guantanamo? Pentagon officials say there are three basic reasons: 1) the home country has a poor record of keeping track of those repatriated, declining to make a significant commitment to keep the detainees in custody, detention or on a watch list; 2) they could subjected to torture or execution on return; and 3) the detainees are essentially stateless, that the home country refuses to take them back.
The officials say there are so many Yemenis still in Cuba because they don’t trust the Yemeni government’s commitment, particularly after some high-profile prisoners have repeatedly escaped from prison. Among them, those involved in the October 2000 bombing of the U.S. Cole in Aden harbor.
A spokesman for the Yemeni Embassy tells NBC News his government recently submitted a “rehabilitation and reconciliation” program to U.S. State Department to “assure that those detainees who don’t have blood on their hands will be assimilated” into the Yemeni nation. So far, he says, there is no agreement on repatriation. Yemeni officials admit the escapes have caused tension with the Bush administration.
As for the Uiyghurs, Pentagon officials quietly say the U.S. fears that the Chinese government will execute the militants on their return. So they stay behind bars at Guantanamo. Officials say the number of those whose homeland won’t accept them is “very small.” One of those countries is Algeria, which has had a significant rise in jihadi attacks in recent years and has no interest in possibly adding to the terrorist threat.
There is also the issue of uncertain nationality. U.S. officials as well as officials of other countries say some of the detainees disguise their nationalities out fear they will be subjected to torture when they are repatriated. In the past, Egyptians have claimed to be Syrians and some of the Yemenis may actually be Saudis.
While the U.S. believes 100 of the detainees are Yemeni nationals, Yemeni officials aren’t so sure. The actual number, said a Yemeni official, is “not clear yet…there are uncertain nationalities.” So much so, said the official, that his government has twice sent security delegations to Guantanamo to meet with and interview detainees to clear up the nationality issue.
Yemen, like many in the Arab and Muslim worlds, praised the Supreme Court decision.
“We are pleased about the Supreme Court’s decision because it is the basic right of a human being to have a fair trial acceptable to international standards,” said the statement. “We remain committed to work with American government to transfer Yemeni detainees to Yemeni custody.”
