Yemeni captives in Guantanamo

The United States acknowledges holding 108 Yemeni captives in Guantanamo.

By January 2008 the Yemenis in Guantanamo represented the largest group of captives. On March 12 2008 Mark Falkoff of the Center for Constitutional Rights issued a call for the repatriation of the Yemeni captives, reporting that 95 Yemenis remained in detention, and they now constituted more than a third of the captive population. Falkoff wrote that the delay in his release is due to a failure of the USA and Yemeni governments to reach an agreement on the security arrangements for the captives, following their repatriation. By contrast, almost all the 133 Saudi captives in Guantanamo had been sent home in 2006 and 2007.

A delegation of Yemeni officials visited Guantanamo shortly after it opened in January 2002.

Repatriated captives

Several returned Yemeni captives were charged and stood trial, following their repatriation. Yemen established a special Criminal Court for Terrorism where their trials took place.

On June 7 2008 the Yemeni site Al Sahwa Net reported that negotiations were advanced for the repatration of approximately seventy Yemeni captives.

On June 7 2008 Yemen Online reported that several Yemeni captives had recently been allowed to their first phone calls to their families. The article also reported that "informed sources" said Stephan Seche, the American ambassador had returned to the USA to brief the Bush Presidency on Yemen's rehabilitation program for repatriated captives.