WASHINGTON, 23 October — The United States is preparing to release a small number of the 598 suspected Al-Qaeda and Taleban prisoners held at the US naval base in Guantanamo, Cuba, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday.
Rumsfeld declined to give details, but told reporters the United States had determined they were no longer of intelligence value and were not candidates for criminal prosecution.
Another senior defense official told Reuters the prisoners to be removed from the base included Pakistanis. It was not clear whether they would be simply released or turned over to their home governments for possible further action.
"Detainees" from 43 countries began arriving at the base under heavily armed guard from Afghanistan and other areas in January and are being held at a prison camp constructed for them after Sept. 11 attacks on America.
One Afghan prisoner was repatriated in April after doctors determined he was mentally ill. But the only other Guantanamo prisoner moved from the camp to date was Yaser Esam Hamdi. He was sent to a Navy prison in Norfolk, Virginia, after authorities learned he was born in Louisiana to Saudi parents and could be considered a US citizen. He is being held there indefinitely as an "enemy combatant."
Pakistan said last month that the majority of its 58 citizens detained at Guantanamo were not linked with the Al-Qaeda network and their release was being discussed with Washington. A six-member team of Pakistani investigators visited Guantanamo in August to interview the prisoners.
Speaking at a Pentagon briefing on the war on terrorism, Rumsfeld said "there are a few that have now been moved through that process" of deciding they no longer need to be held by the United States. "I’ve said ‘That’s fine with me.’"
"It’s true that that process is working and that there are some people likely to come out the other end of the chute," the secretary added.
No charges have been filed against any of the nearly 600 prisoners being held in a military prison camp at Guantanamo Naval Base although the Bush administration has left open the possibility that some could face military tribunals.
Defense officials declined to say exactly when the small number of prisoners might be moved from the base.
