30 Yemenis to be transferred from Guantanamo

Sana'a: Thirty Yemenis being held in Guantanamo Bay have received approval to be transferred from the detention centre to their home country or elsewhere, said an American lawyer yesterday.

"According to a task force report, they might be transferred to their country, Yemen, if the security environment improves," said lawyer, David Remes, who offered legal assistance for about 16 Yemeni detainees.

The American authorities have been concerned about releasing the Yemeni detainees after two Saudi former detainees were announced the leaders of the Yemen-based Al Qaida branch, known as Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Only five Yemenis in the detention centre will be prosecuted in federal courts or in military tribunals, said the lawyer. "Twenty six of the Yemeni detainees will be indefinitely detained," Remes told Gulf News on the phone from Washington.

Of the 240 men remaining in the Guantanamo Bay, only two dozen were leaders, operatives and facilitators involved in plots against the United States, according to the Guantanamo Task Force report, which was issued last week.

Thirty six men will prosecuted in federal courts or military tribunals. Forty eight men are too dangerous to be transferred but cannot be prosecuted, according to the report.