US sends 10 Guantanamo prisoners to Oman

Oman announced today that it had received 10 prisoners released by the United States from its Guantanamo Bay military prison. Apparently, the move was seen as a push by outgoing President Barack Obama to reduce the inmate population at the notorious facility before leaving office.

“To meet a request by the US government to assist in settling the issue of the detainees at Guantanamo,” explained the foreign ministry in Muscat, “and out of consideration for their humanitarian situation, 10 people released from that prison have arrived in the Sultanate of Oman for temporary residency.”

It is unclear what Oman will do with the former detainees and how long they will be allowed to stay in the sultanate. The US department of defence has yet to make a statement about the transfer.

During the 2008 US presidential election, Barack Obama made a promise to shut down the prison at Guantanamo Bay. Most of the detainees were held without charge and were not allowed to see the evidence against them. Horrific accounts of torture at the prison sparked global outrage and repeated calls for the US authorities to close the prison. It remains open.