Detainee Transfer Announced
March 12, 2005

The Department of Defense announced today that it transferred three detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Afghanistan, Maldives and Pakistan for release. This transfer increases the number of detainees who have departed GTMO to 214.

This transfer includes three detainees found to no longer be an enemy combatant by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

The decision to transfer or release a detainee is based on many factors, including whether the detainee is of further intelligence value to the United States and whether the detainee is believed to pose a continuing threat to the United States if released.

There are ongoing processes to review the status of detainees. A determination about the continued detention or transfer of a detainee is based on the best information and evidence available at the time. The circumstances in which detainees are apprehended can be ambiguous, and many of the detainees are highly skilled in concealing the truth.

During the course of the war on terrorism, the Department expects that there will be other transfers or releases of detainees.

Because of operational and security considerations, no further details can be provided.

Prior to this transfer, 211 detainees had departed GTMO – 146 for release, and 65 transferred to the control of other governments (29 to Pakistan, five to Morocco, seven to France, seven to Russia, four to Saudi Arabia, one to Spain, one to Sweden, one to Kuwait, one to Australia and nine to Great Britain). Two hundred and fourteen detainees have now departed Guantanamo. There are approximately 540 detainees currently at Guantanamo.