Pentagon Releases Five Gitmo Detainees to Kazakhstan

Three Yemenis, Two Tunisians Had Been Cleared for Release

The Pentagon has issued a statement today confirming the release of five detainees from Guantanamo Bay, bringing the number of detainees released this year to 28.

The five detainees were sent to Kazakhstan. Three of them were reportedly Yemenis, with the other two Tunisians, and all had been approved for release after a dozen years in detention without charges.

127 detainees remain on Guantanamo Bay, with around half of them cleared for release, but being held indefinitely as officials try to find some nation or other to foist them off on.

Though administration officials continue to insist that President Obama intends to close the facility, there is no indication it will actually happen, and the bulk of remaining detainees are not expected to ever be released.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.