Gulf | Yemen
No progress on freeing 100 Yemeni detainees
The United States and Yemen remain at odds over a proposal to release more than one-third of the detainees from Guantanamo Bay, officials said Monday, even as the Bush administration wrestles with the future of the military prison
- AP
- Published: 00:07 July 9, 2008
Washington: The United States and Yemen remain at odds over a proposal to release more than one-third of the detainees from Guantanamo Bay, officials said Monday, even as the Bush administration wrestles with the future of the military prison.
About 100 of the approximately 270 prisoners remaining at Guantanamo Bay are Yemeni nationals. A US delegation visited the capital city of Saan'a last week to discuss the possible transfer of a few detainees to Yemen. Yemeni officials hoped to negotiate the release of all but the most dangerous prisoners.
"There is no progress at all," said Waleed Alshahari, an official following the talks for the Yemeni Embassy in Washington.
"The situation remains as it is."
Right to challenge
The future of Guantanamo Bay has been in doubt since the Supreme Court ruled last month that detainees have the right to challenge their imprisonment in US courts. A deal with Yemen could dramatically shrink the inmate population before the Bush administration is forced to explain to federal judges why the detainees are being held.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States and Yemen had "good discussions, but there's still work to be done in that regard." Another US official said prospects were slim for an imminent agreement.
Meanwhile, the court process began yesterday with a hearing in Washington. Under a proposed schedule to be discussed judges could begin reviewing evidence against some of the detainees within weeks.
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