US sends home a Kenyan man held 17 years without charge at Guantanamo military prison

WASHINGTON — The U.S. has repatriated a Kenya man held for 17 years without charge at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, leaving 15 other never-charged men still waiting for release after long being cleared of wrongdoing.

The Defense Department announced the return of Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu to Kenya on Tuesday.

The George W. Bush administration set up a military court and prison at the U.S. naval base to handle hundreds of mostly Muslim detainees swept up around the world in the U.S. “war on terror” that followed al-Qaida 's Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

Only 29 detainees remain at Guantanamo after the Kenyan man's release. Fifteen have been cleared of wrongdoing and are waiting for acceptance by a suitable foreign country, three others are eligible for review, four convicted men are serving sentences and seven are undergoing military prosecution. The last include four men accused in al-Qaida's 9/11 attacks.

Amnesty International urged the Biden administration to end the detention of the 15 never-charged men. If not, the rights group said in a statement, “he will continue to bear responsibility for the abhorrent practice of indefinite detention without charge or trial by the U.S. government.