Three Guantanamo Bay detainees transferred by Pentagon

Three detainees held at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba have been sent back to their home countries of Malaysia and Kenya, the Pentagon announced. 

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“Pursuant to a pretrial agreement between the U.S. and the two men, each has cooperated with the U.S. Government and has provided deposition testimony available for use against the alleged mastermind, Encep Nurjaman, of the Al Qaeda-affiliated attacks on nightclubs in Bali, Indonesia in 2002, and the attack on the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2003,” the DOD said in a statement. 

“On June 13, 2024, in accordance with the pretrial agreements, the Convening Authority approved sentences of confinement for approximately five years for each and recommended that both men be repatriated or transferred to a third-party sovereign nation to serve the remainder of the approved sentence,” the department added. 

Indonesian police and rescue workers are seen at the site of a bomb blast in the tourist area of Kuta, Bali, in October 2002. (Cyril Terrien/AFP via Getty Images)

The Pentagon said Bajabu’s detention was “was no longer necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the national security of the United States.” 

“The United States appreciates the support to ongoing U.S. efforts toward a deliberate and thorough process focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility,” the Pentagon said Wednesday. 

Chain link fence and concertina wire surrounds a deserted guard tower within Joint Task Force Guantánamo’s Camp Delta at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in March 2016. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)

“Today, 27 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay: 15 are eligible for transfer; 3 are eligible for a Periodic Review Board; 7 are involved in the military commissions process; and 2 detainees have been convicted and sentenced by military commissions,” the Pentagon added. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.