Oman’s Foreign Ministry [official website, in Arabic] announced that it has accepted 10 detainees from Guantanamo Bay upon request from the Obama administration. However, there has been no official statement released by the US Defense Department [official website] on the transfer nor has the Oman Foreign Ministry released the names of the detainees. US President-Elect Donald Trump recently called for a halt to the releases, stating [WP report] that the remaining detainees are too dangerous to be “allowed back onto the battlefield.” Trump currently intends to keep Guantanamo Bay open during his term.

Last month a detainee was transferred [JURIST report] from Guantanamo Bay to the government of Cape Verde, a small country off the Western coast of Africa. In September the Obama administration shut down [JURIST report] Camp 5 of Guantanamo Bay, which was a 100-cell maximum security prison. In August Vice President Joe Biden stated at a press conference in Sweden that he hoped and expected [JURIST report] that the Guantanamo prison would be closed before President Barack Obama leaves office. Also in August the DOD announced the transfer [JURIST report] of 15 Guantanamo detainees to the United Arab Emirates. Earlier in August a US Senator released a Pentagon Report [JURIST report] detailing the profiles of those currently detained in and recently released from the Guantanamo Bay detention center. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) concluded that closing the facility would not be in the US’ best interests and would pose a safety risk.