In response to the U.S. Government transferring Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu out of the Guantánamo Bay detention center and to the Kenyan
Government, Daphne Eviatar, director of the Security with Human Rights program at Amnesty International USA, made the following statement:
“We welcome the news that Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu, who has been indefinitely detained without charge at Guantánamo for more than 17 years, is finally being transferred out of the prison.
The U.S. government now has an obligation to ensure that the government of Kenya will respect and protect his human rights.
“Transferring Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu is certainly a move in the right direction, but it isn’t enough. We hope to see more transfers in the coming days. Fifteen men remain who have never been charged with any crimes and have long been cleared by U.S. security agencies to leave Guantánamo, some for more than a decade. As a matter of justice, they should be transferred as soon as possible.
“President Biden must transfer these men before he leaves office, or he will continue to bear responsibility for the abhorrent practice of indefinite detention without charge or trial by the U.S. government. It has been 23 years; President Biden can, and must, put an end to this now.”
Additional information:
The military detention facility at Guantánamo Bay is a glaring, longstanding stain on the human rights record of the United States. Today, it continues to hold 29 Muslim men, most without facing charges or a trial.
As one of its five asks to President Biden before he leaves office, Amnesty International USA has urged him to transfer all the detainees cleared for release out of Guantánamo, an important step toward closing the detention facility.
In 2021 Amnesty International released a report highlighting ongoing human rights violations at the Guantánamo Bay detention facility.