After the transfer of Mohamed Abdul Malik Bajab, 29 prisoners remained in U.S. detention facilities in Cuba.

The United States has released Guantanamo Bay Detainee Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu was sent to Kenya, bringing the number of inmates in the facility to 29.

The Pentagon announced Bajab’s release on Tuesday, saying Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin notified Congress of its decision last month to return him to Kenya.

Bajab was arrested by Kenyan authorities in Mombasa in 2007 and transferred to Guantánamo a few weeks later on suspicion of involvement in al Qaeda’s East African branch.

The Periodic Review Board that assesses detainee status determined in 2021 that Bajab was “no longer needed to protect U.S. national security from significant ongoing threats.”

The Probation America group representing Bajab welcomed his release, saying he had been tortured by Kenyan authorities and U.S. military personnel.

“The United States deprived an innocent man of the best years of his life, separating him from his wife and young children when they needed him most,” a lawyer representing Bajab said in a statement. ”

“His children, who were babies when he was tortured, interrogated and sent to Guantánamo, are now grown. These debts can never be repaid, but the least the United States can do is ensure that Abdulmalik gets a fresh start The support and space you need to live.”

Guantánamo Detention Facility Opened in 2002 Houses detainees captured in the so-called “war on terror” after the 9/11 attacks.

The prison, located on a U.S. military base in Cuba, operates under a legal system dominated by military commissions and does not guarantee the same rights as traditional U.S. courts.

Detainees approved for release sometimes stay in Guantánamo for years as Washington looks for countries to take them in upon their release.

The prison once housed nearly 800 detainees, many of whom initially spent time at secret CIA locations known as “black sites,” where they were tortured under an “enhanced interrogation” program authorized by the administration of former President George W. Bush.

Guantanamo has become a permanent symbol of American atrocities of that era.

Bush’s successor, Barack Obama, had promised to close the facility, but he The failure was mainly due to legal technical issues and domestic political opposition.

According to the Pentagon, there are still 29 detainees at Guantánamo, 15 of whom are eligible for transfer.

In July, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, reached plea deals with two other detainees that will allow them to spend the rest of their lives in prison without will be tried and the government will seek the death penalty against them.

but austin Transaction blocked It came after outcry from some conservative lawmakers and family members of attack victims.

A military judge reinstated the plea deal, but the Pentagon is appealing the decision.

On Tuesday, the Pentagon said it aimed to eventually close the detention center at Guantanamo.

“The United States appreciates the support of all parties for the United States’ ongoing efforts to engage in a thoughtful and thorough process focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility,” the statement said.