Detainee Transfer Announced
May 18, 2006

The Department of Defense announced today that it transferred 15 Saudi detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Saudi Arabia. This movement consisted of detainees approved for transfer by an Administrative Review Board (ARB) decision at Guantanamo.

With today’s transfer, approximately 120 detainees remain at Guantanamo who the U.S. government has determined eligible for transfer or release through a comprehensive series of review processes. Departure of these remaining detainees approved for transfer or release is subject to ongoing discussions between the United States and other nations. The United States does not desire to hold detainees for any longer than necessary. The department expects that there will continue to be other transfers or releases of detainees.

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

With this transfer, 287 detainees have departed Guantanamo – 192 released and 95 transferred to other governments, including Albania, Afghanistan, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden and Uganda.

Approximately 460 detainees remain at Guantanamo.