Five Yemeni detainees from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp have been transferred to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the Department of Defense (DOD) [press release] announced Sunday. The Guantanamo Review Task Force (GRTF)[text, PDF] unanimously approved [NPR report] for transfer four of the five detainees more than five years ago. At first, Ali Ahmad Muhammad al-Razihi [NYT Projects], the fifth detainee, was recommended for continued detention. Al-Razihi was then found not to be [NYT report] a “continuing significant threat to the security of the [US]” and was approved by the Periodic Review Board (PRB)[official site] in 2014. The DOD stated that the US and the UAE ensured that the transfers were “consistent with appropriate security and humane treatment measures.” Currently, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (NDAA) prohibits the use of funds for transfer or release to Yemen due to security concerns. The detainees are the first to be resettled in the UAE [Guardian report], and the Obama administration has transferred, repatriated or resettled 131 detainees [HRF fact sheet, PDF]. Currently, 107 detainees [CNN report] remain at Guantanamo, with 39 Yemenis approved for transfer.

The transfer of the detainees was a positive step towards President Barack Obama’s plan to close the Guantanamo Bay military prison after the plan was set back this month when the US Senate approved [JURIST report] the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal year 2016 (NDAA) [text, PDF]. Provisions in the legislation prohibit the use of funds to “transfer or release individuals detained at [Guantánamo Bay] to or within the US” and the “closure” of the prison. Last month a federal judge denied a request by the government [JURIST report] to reconsider a previous judicial order demanding the US to release a series of force-feeding videotapes from Guantanamo Bay. In September the government released eight of the 32 [JURIST report] videotapes showing tube feeding conducted by medical and security personnel. A Guantanamo detainee alleged [JURIST report] in June that the CIA’s torture techniques included pouring ice water on his private areas; video taped him naked while touching his genitals; beat him with sticks, belts, baseball bats, and a hammer; forced him to endure rectal feedings; and kept him in solitary confinement for two years.