WASHINGTON, January 15 (Sputnik) — The Defense Ministry announced the transfer of Al Khadr Abdallah Muhammad Al Yafi, Fadel Hussein Saleh Hentif, Abd Al-Rahman Abdullah Au Shabati, and Mohammed Ahmed Salam to Oman, adding that the United States "is grateful to the Government of Oman for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility."
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp was established in 2002 following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. Ever since, the military prison was subject of criticism by human rights advocates, as former detainees described the inhumane conditions of their imprisonment, including use of torture.
In 2009, US President Barack Obama issued an executive order to review the status of all individuals detained at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and to shut down the detention facilities there. Up to date he has cut the number of detainees nearly in half but the complete shutdown has not taken place yet.
There are currently 122 detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
