Three detainees held at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba have been sent back to their home countries of Malaysia and Kenya, the Pentagon announced.
The transfers of Mohammed Farik bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir bin Lep to Malaysia comes after they pleaded guilty before a military commission to multiple offenses, including murder and destruction of property in violation of the law of war, according to the Department of Defense (DOD).
"Pursuant to a pretrial agreement between the U.S. and the two men, each has cooperated with the U.S. Government and has provided deposition testimony available for use against the alleged mastermind, Encep Nurjaman, of the Al Qaeda-affiliated attacks on nightclubs in Bali, Indonesia in 2002, and the attack on the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2003," the DOD said in a statement.
"On June 13, 2024, in accordance with the pretrial agreements, the Convening Authority approved sentences of confinement for approximately five years for each and recommended that both men be repatriated or transferred to a third-party sovereign nation to serve the remainder of the approved sentence," the department added.
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Prosecutors say both men worked for years with Nurjaman, an Indonesian leader of al Qaeda-affiliate Jemaah Islamiya. That includes helping Nurjaman escape capture after the Oct. 12, 2002 bombings that killed 202 people at two night spots in Bali, U.S. officials said.
Nurjaman remains in custody at Guantánamo Bay awaiting resumption of pre-trial hearings in January involving the Bali bombings and other attacks.
On Tuesday, U.S. authorities repatriated a Kenyan man, Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu, after 17 years at Guantánamo Bay without charge.
He was arrested by Kenyan authorities in 2007 and was accused of belonging to an al Qaeda branch in East Africa, according to the Washington Post.
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The Pentagon said Bajabu’s detention was "was no longer necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the national security of the United States."
"The United States appreciates the support to ongoing U.S. efforts toward a deliberate and thorough process focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility," the Pentagon said Wednesday.
"Today, 27 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay: 15 are eligible for transfer; 3 are eligible for a Periodic Review Board; 7 are involved in the military commissions process; and 2 detainees have been convicted and sentenced by military commissions," the Pentagon added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
