Albania To Resettle Three Further Guantanamo Inmates
The US has released three detainees held at its Guantanamo Bay prison facility to Albania, after determining they were no longer "enemy combatants," the Department of Defence said Friday.
The three detainees - an Algerian, Egyptian and an ethnic Uzbek born in the former Soviet Union - would have an opportunity to "rebuild their lives" in Albania, a statement from the department said.
The release comes as part of a 2004-2005 status review of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, facility and the US has since been in talks with various countries to resettle inmates no longer deemed a threat.
About 80 detainees have been released from Guantanamo this year, but another 110 detainees eligible for release or transfer are still being held pending a suitable country being found, the Department of Defence said.
Albania had already agreed in May to accept five of 15 ethnic Uighurs held at Guantanamo, who the US government had been reluctant to return to China over concerns they could face religious persecution.
"The United States has done the utmost to ensure that these three detainees will be treated humanely upon release," Friday's statement said. "The United States does not desire to hold detainees for any longer than necessary."
The statement did not say how long the three new releases had been held at Guantanamo, which was built to house prisoners in the war on terrorism. About 430 detainees in total are still being held at the facility.
The three detainees - an Algerian, Egyptian and an ethnic Uzbek born in the former Soviet Union - would have an opportunity to "rebuild their lives" in Albania, a statement from the department said.
The release comes as part of a 2004-2005 status review of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, facility and the US has since been in talks with various countries to resettle inmates no longer deemed a threat.
About 80 detainees have been released from Guantanamo this year, but another 110 detainees eligible for release or transfer are still being held pending a suitable country being found, the Department of Defence said.
Albania had already agreed in May to accept five of 15 ethnic Uighurs held at Guantanamo, who the US government had been reluctant to return to China over concerns they could face religious persecution.
"The United States has done the utmost to ensure that these three detainees will be treated humanely upon release," Friday's statement said. "The United States does not desire to hold detainees for any longer than necessary."
The statement did not say how long the three new releases had been held at Guantanamo, which was built to house prisoners in the war on terrorism. About 430 detainees in total are still being held at the facility.