Transfer of Detainees Complete
March 01, 2004

The Department of Defense announced today that it transferred seven Russian detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for continued detention by the Russian government.

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 he poses a threat to the United States. The decision to transfer these detainees was made after extensive discussions between our two governments.

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.

To date, 88 detainees have been released and12 others have been transferred for continued detention (previously four to the Saudi Arabian government and one to the Spanish government).