Two Pakistanis leave Guantanamo after 20 years without charges

Abdul and Mohammed Rabbani, arrested from Karachi in 2002, are the newest inmates to be launched from US custody.

A guard tower stands at the entrance of the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, also known as "Gitmo" on October 23, 2016 at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
A guard tower stands on the entrance of the US jail at Guantanamo Bay [File: John Moore/Getty Images]

Two Pakistani brothers held by the USA at Guantanamo Bay army jail for 20 years have been freed by US officers and have returned residence, officers mentioned.

Abdul, 55, and Mohammed Rabbani, 53, might be reunited with their households after a proper questioning by Pakistani authorities, safety officers and a Pakistani senator mentioned on Friday.

The 2 brothers arrived at an airport within the capital, Islamabad, on Friday. Pakistani Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, the chairman of the human rights committee within the higher home of Pakistan’s parliament, tweeted that the 2 brothers had reached Islamabad airport.

Khan mentioned the lads had been “innocently imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay for 21 years”.

“There was no trial, no court docket proceedings, no expenses towards them. Congratulations on their launch. Thanks Senate of Pakistan,” he wrote on Twitter.

Khan later informed The Related Press that the brothers had been being despatched to Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province, the place they lived with their households. He mentioned he hoped the lads might be reunited with their households quickly.

They had been the newest inmates to be launched from US custody because the nation strikes in direction of emptying and shutting down the jail.

The George W Bush administration set it up at a naval base in Cuba for suspects rounded up after the September 11, 2001 assaults on the US.

The releases come months after a 75-year-old Pakistani, Saifullah Paracha, was free of the Guantanamo Bay jail.

The 2 brothers had been initially transferred to US custody after Pakistani officers arrested them of their residence metropolis of Karachi in 2002. US officers accused the 2 of serving to al-Qaeda members with housing and different lower-level logistical help.

The brothers alleged torture whereas in CIA custody earlier than being transferred to Guantanamo. US army data describe the 2 as offering little intelligence of worth or recanting statements made throughout interrogations on the grounds they had been obtained by bodily abuse.

The US army introduced their repatriation in a press release. It gave no instant data on any situations set by Pakistan relating to their return there.

“The USA appreciates the willingness of the Authorities of Pakistan and different companions to help ongoing US efforts targeted on responsibly lowering the detainee inhabitants and finally closing the Guantanamo Bay facility,” the defence division mentioned.

On Friday, a detailed household pal of the 2 brothers informed the AP that Pakistani authorities had formally knowledgeable the brothers’ household in regards to the launch and their return to Pakistan.

The household pal, who's Pakistani and refused to be recognized for safety causes, mentioned the youthful Rabbani discovered portray throughout his detention at Guantanamo Bay, and that he was anticipated to convey with him a few of these work.

He mentioned Ahmed Rabbani ceaselessly went on starvation strikes and jail officers fed him by means of a tube. He mentioned the person remained on the dietary dietary supplements.

Guantanamo at its peak in 2003 held about 600 individuals whom the US thought of “terrorists”. Supporters of utilizing the detention facility for such figures contend it prevented assaults.

However critics say the army detention and courts subverted human rights and constitutional rights, and undermined US standing overseas.

Thirty-two detainees stay at Guantanamo Bay, together with 18 eligible for switch if steady third-party international locations may be discovered to take them, the Pentagon mentioned.

Many are from Yemen, a rustic thought of too plagued with struggle and armed teams, and too devoid of providers for freed Yemeni prisoners to be despatched there.

9 of the inmates are defendants in slow-moving military-run tribunals. Two others have been convicted.

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