STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Some other news on this New Year's Day - the U.S. military has opened the gates of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and guided out a prisoner who had been in custody since 2002. The U.S. captured Ridah Bin Saleh al-Yazidi as part of its war on terror. They never charged him with a crime in all those years, but then held him year after year after year - more than 20 years. The U.S. has now repatriated him, sending him back to Tunisia. And he's one of four people the Biden administration has done something like this to in recent weeks. So let's talk about this with Nancy Youssef of The Wall Street Journal, who covers national security. Welcome back to the program.
NANCY YOUSSEF: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: Let's hear the story of this man who was held for more than 20 years without charge. Why did he end up in there in the first place?
YOUSSEF: So he was captured in the weeks after the 9/11 attacks near Tora Bora with a group of other men by Pakistani authorities. He was seen as a potential bodyguard to bin Laden at the time when they were searching for him, as many were - sort of labeled as that. But from what we can tell, he was most likely, if anything, a low-level fighter. And so he was captured by Pakistani authorities, moved to Guantanamo on January 11, 2002 - the day of prison opened - and has been held there ever since.
INSKEEP: I just want to define some terms here. When you say Tora Bora, you're talking about Afghanistan. So this is a Tunisian man who ended up in Afghanistan, in the mountains, somewhere around Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks - so reason to be suspicious of this person. But then the United States never charged him with a crime. Why was that?
YOUSSEF: Well, he was one of many who hadn't been charged during his time there. I think what we've seen in these cases is either a lack of evidence or inability to present evidence because of the way it was obtained. And so he was part of this large group that was held, but there were problems in proceeding with his case. And so, at the same time, while there was an agreement that he should be released, he faced the additional challenge of where he should go. While some were willing to go to other countries, it wasn't clear that Tunisia was ready to accept him. And from what we can tell, he was unwilling to go to other countries. And so that was another factor that dragged his detention. This was a move that was approved 11 months ago.
INSKEEP: Wow, 11 months ago. I want to think this through for a moment, because at the beginning, you can understand the United States dilemma. They didn't want to treat people as criminal suspects. They wanted to treat them basically as prisoners of war. We're going to hold these people for a while, while we're at war, and it's going to last a long time. But you're telling me this is a person who for a very long time, the United States has felt it's clear to release him. Why would he then remain so much longer in custody?
YOUSSEF: So there's a lot of questions about this, because he hadn't seen a lawyer for many, many years during his detention and that there were efforts to move him to other countries. There's been a lot of speculation about why he didn't want to go to other countries. The indications are that there was some resistance on his part, and then there's always the long challenge of finding the appropriate country that would take him and under what conditions. And the fact that Tunisia was unwilling to sort of take him also sort of led to some foot-dragging in terms of securing his release.
INSKEEP: That is a problem with all sorts of deportation cases, the countries that don't want to take them back. But I want to understand what we know here. So he's been repatriated to Tunisia, according to the Pentagon. I guess that means sent back to Tunis, sent back to Tunisia. But is he a free man in Tunisia? Are the Tunisians going to hold him? What happens to him now?
YOUSSEF: Well, what's interesting is that we know that he's under Tunisian custody, but we don't know the circumstances of what that looks like. And others who have been repatriated have been held in various different ways. It's different country by country. There's not a consistent way. And some of them, frankly, have ended up back on the battlefield and have appeared in other terrorist organizations. And so it's hard to know with any specificity. The Pentagon's not saying it. Tunisia is not saying it. And we don't even know how he was transferred to Tunisia. So there's a lot of mystery around his movement.
INSKEEP: Just a few seconds here, but is it clear that despite these recent people being repatriated, that there's still someone in Guantanamo and this prison will remain in operation in yet another presidential administration?
YOUSSEF: Very simply, yes. There has been a move to get people out. But at the end of the day, President Biden will leave Trump a Guantanamo that is open and dealing with adjudicating prisoners, rather than sort of on the path of closing. I think - remember that closing Guantanamo means moving Guantanamo. And until that's resolved, it will remain open.
INSKEEP: Nancy Youssef of The Wall Street Journal, it's always a pleasure to hear from you so early. Happy New Year.
YOUSSEF: Happy New Year.
INSKEEP: Thanks. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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