Timeline: Guantanamo Bay prison

A timeline of key events at the US-run prison.

Guantanamo Bay prison guard
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More than 200 inmates remain at Guantanamo, six months after it was ordered closed [GETTY]
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As soon as it opened in 2001, the prison at Guantanamo Bay prompted international outcry from those who believed that the prisoners were being held beyond the reach of legal protection.

Below is a timeline marking the key events in the prison’s history, including the legal challenges, detainee releases and political events that led to an executive order signed by Barack Obama, the US president, during his second day in office to close down the detention facility.

Colour code

Actions taken by the administration of George Bush, the former US president, are highlighted in red;

Legal challenges are highlighted in yellow;

Directives and actions taken by Obama are in blue

2001

November 13, 2001: George Bush, the US president, issues a military order on the “Detention, Treatment and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens, in the War Against Terrorism”. The order authorises the US to hold foreign nationals in custody without charge indefinitely, and prevents them from undertaking any legal process to challenge their detention.

December 28, 2001: A memorandum from the US Justice Department to the Pentagon explains that prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay are not eligible for habeas corpus rights because they are not on US soil.

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2002

January 11, 2002:  The first 20 detainees arrive at Guantanamo Bay’s Camp X-Ray and are held outdoors in wire mesh cages.

January 18: The International Committee of the Red Cross begins visiting prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. On the same day, the Bush administration rules that Guantanamo prisoners do not qualify as prisoners of war and are not entitled to the protection of the Geneva Convention.

January 27: Dick Cheney, the US vice-president, describes the prisoners as “the worst of a very bad lot,” adding that: “They are very dangerous. They are devoted to killing millions of Americans.”

February 19: The Centre for Constitutional Rights files Rasul v Bush, a habeas petition, in the Washington circuit court on behalf of prisoners David Hicks, Shafiq Rasul and Asif Iqbal.

February 21: US Federal judge dismisses the challenge to the detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

March 21: The Bush administration announces new military tribunal regulations.

April 5: Prisoner Yaser Esam Hamdi is transferred from Guantanamo to military custody on the mainland after it is discovered he was born in the US state of Louisiana.

April 25: Construction of the new Camp Delta, a permanent prison facility with a capacity of more than 400, is completed.

April 28: Detainees are moved from Camp X-Ray to the new prison. 

June 11: Hamdi, now held on US territory, files a writ of habeas corpus.

August 1: A memorandum from the Justice Department to then White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales advises that the president can authorise a wide range of “enhanced interrogation techniques” that would not amount to torture and therefore not be prosecutable under US law. Even if torture did occur, the memorandum argues, the theory of “necessity” or “self-defence” could be used to eliminate any criminal liability.

September 15: Abdul Razaq is the first inmate to be repatriated to Afghanistan.

October 28: Mohammad Saghir is repatriated to Pakistan. Jon Mohammad Barakzai, Mohammed Sadiq and Haji Faiz Mohammed are repatriated to Afghanistan.

December 2: Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, approves a range of interrogation techniques for use at Guantanamo including sensory deprivation, isolation, stress positions and the use of dogs to “induce stress”.

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2003

 

March 11: Federal appeals court rules that Guantanamo detainees have no legal rights in the United States.

March 23: Prisoners Solaiman Dur Mohammed Shah, Sharghulab Mirmuhammad, Ezat Khan, Yarass Ali Must, Ehsanullah, Nassir Malang, Mohammed Sargidene, Abdullah Edmondada, Murtazah Abdul Rahman, Shaibjan Torjan, Shai Jahn Ghafoor, Badshah Wali, Neyaz Walijan, Mirza Mohammed, Mohamed Kabel, Bismillah , Said Abasin and Alif Khan are repatriated to Afghanistan.

May: Guantanamo prison population reaches 680 detainees.

May 9: Shabidzada Usman, Shah Mohammed Alikhel and Jihan Wali are repatriated to Pakistan. Mohammed Raz Mohammed Kakar, Mohammed Yusif Yaqub, Sultan Mohammed, Abdul Karim, Ehssanullah, Abdul Hanan, Nematullah Sahib Khan Alizai, Mahngur Alikhan, Rostum Akhtar Mohammed and Mohammed Tahir are repatriated to Afghanistan.

May 14: Mishal Muhammad Rashid al Shedoky, Fahd Abdallah Ibrahim al Shabani, Fawaz Abd al Aziz al Zahrani, Ibrahim Rushdan Brayk al Shili and Ibrahim Umar Ali al Umar are repatriated to Saudi Arabia.

July 1: Abdullah Tabarak is repatriated to Morocco. Fael Roda al Waleeli is transferred to an unknown country.

July 3: Bush designates six suspected members of al-Qaeda eligible for the first military tribunals since the second World War.

July 16: Jamal Muhammad Al Deen, Asad Ullah, Tariq Khan, Abdul Raziq, Mohammed Raz, Ghaser Zaban Safollah, Mohammad Kashef Khan, Faik Iqbal, Ali Ahmed, Mohammed Ansar, Abdul Mowla and Sajin Urayman are repatriated to Pakistan. Mohammed Raz, Ghuladkhan, Mohammadullah, Abdul Waheed, Sabit Layar, Mahmud Sadik, Noor Ahmad, Abdul Rahman Noorani, Noor Habib Ullah, Nisar Rahmad, Mohammed Nayim Farouq, Mohammad Akhbar, Nathi Ghul, Azizullah Asekzai and Kari Mohammed Sarwar are repatriated to Afghanistan. Salah Hudin is transferred to an unknown country.

September: It emerges that two translators and a Muslim chaplain who worked at Guantanamo have been arrested on charges relating to espionage and improper use of classified documents. The case against the chaplain later unravels.

October 9: The Red Cross warns of the “deterioration in the psychological health of a large number of detainees”.

November 10: The US Supreme Court agrees to hear appeals in the Guantanamo case.

November 18: Mohammed Ishaq, Munir Bin Naseer, Ejaz Ahmad Khan, Hafice Leqeat Manzu, Majid Mehmood and Tila Mohammed Khan are repatriated to Pakistan. Janan Taus Khan, Abdul Hadi Muhamed Rasul Sayed, Nabu Abdul Ghani, Juma Khan, Khirullah Akah, Insanullah, Hamidullah, Abdul Baqi, Hezbullah and Wazir Zalim Ghul are repatriated to Afghanistan. Yuksel Celik Gogus and Ibrahim Shafir Sen are repatriated to Turkey. Abdurahman Khadr is transferred to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hassan Khalil Mohamoud Abdul Hamid and Mohammed Haji Yousef are transferred to unknown countries.

November 30: Munir Bin Naseer and Tarik Mohammad repatriated to Pakistan. Tarik Mohammad and Ayman Mohammad Silman al Amrani are transferred to unknown countries.

December 3: David Hicks becomes the first Guantanamo prisoner to be given a lawyer.

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2004

January 12: Five military lawyers assigned to defend detainees say that they believe that some of the rules drawn up for the military tribunals are unconstitutional.

January 28: Asad Ullah, Naqib Ullah and Mohammed Ismail are repatriated to Afghanistan.

February 13: Ahmad Abd al Rahman Ahmad is repatriated to Spain.

February 23: The Bush administration brings the first charges against detainees. Ali Hamza al-Bahlul from Yemen and Ibrahim al-Qosi from Sudan are charged with conspiracy to commit war crimes.

February 24: Slimane Hadj Abderrahmane is repatriated to Denmark.

February 27: Rasul Kudayev, Ravil Shafeyavich Gumarov, Almasm Rabilavich Sharipov, Ruslan Odizhev, Aiat Nasimovich Vahitov, Rustam Akhmyarov and Timur Ravilich Ishmurat are repatriated to Russia.

March 9:  Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal, Rhuhel Ahmed, Jamal Malik al Harith and Tarek Dergoul are repatriated to the UK.

March 14: Israr Ul Haq, Mohammad Abas and Ali Mohammed are repatriated to Pakistan. Abdullah Mehsud, Haji Mohammed Khan Achezkai, Yamatolah Abulwance, Aziz Khan Ali Khan Zumarikourt, Abdullah Ghofoor, Hazrat Sangin Khan, Mohammad Nasim, Hamdullah, Ataullah Adam Gul, Amanullah Alikozi, Bismillah, Abdul al Hameed Mohammed Andarr, Osman Khan, Noor Aslaam, Barak, Bar Far Huddine, Abdul Rahim, Zakim Shah, Peta Muhammed, Akhtar Mohammad, Haji Mohammed Wazir and Mirwais Hasan are repatriated to Afghanistan. Bakhtiar Bamari, a citizen of Iran, is transferred to Afghanistan. Mohammed Sadiq Adam is transferred to an unknown country.

March 31: Osam Abdul Rahan Ahmad is repatriated to Jordan. Mahmud Nuri Mart is repatriated to Turkey. Walid Mohammed Shahir is repatriated to Yemen. Sadee Eideov, Moyuballah Homaro, Mazharudin and Shirinov Ghafar Homarovich are repatriated to Tajikistan. Muhammed al Ghazali Babaker Mahjoub and al Rachid Hasan Ahmad Abdul Raheem are repatriated to Sudan. Sohab Mahud Mohhamed and Haydar Jabbar Hafez al Tamimi are repatriated to Iraq. Emdash Abdullah Turkash, Abdul Qadir Yousef Hussein and Menhal al Henali are transferred to unknown countries. 

June 28: Supreme Court rules in Rasul v Bush that the federal courts have the authority to decide whether non-US citizens detained in Guantanamo Bay are wrongfully imprisoned, and in Hamdi v Rumsfeld that the Executive Branch does not have the power to hold indefinitely a US citizen without basic due process protections enforceable through judicial review.

July 6: Mehdi Mohammad Ghezali is repatriated to Sweden.

July 7: The Pentagon launches military panels, known as Combatant Status Review Tribunals or CSRTs, to determine the “enemy combatant” status of each prisoner.

July 17: Yusef Nabied and Abdul Karim Irgashive are repatriated to Tajikistan.

July 26: Mourad Benchellali, Imad Achab Kanouni, Nizar Sassi and Brahim Yadel are repatriated to France.

July 31: Mohamed Ibrahim Awzar, Mohammed Mizouz, Radwan al Shakouri and Ibrahim Bin Shakaran are repatriated to Morocco.

August 13: Review tribunals begin. The tribunal involves three officers who present the unclassified summary evidence against the detainee and question him about his role in events. The three judge panel then decides whether the detainee is an enemy combatant or if he may be released. They are permitted to rely on classified or coerced evidence against detainees denied legal representation.

September 17: Abdul Sattar, Abdul Sattar Nafeesi, Zafar Iqbal, Muhammed Ijaz Khan, Mohammed Sayed, Isa Khan, Hafiz Ihsan Saeed, Mohammed Ashraf, Mohammed Irfan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammed Tariq, Salahodin Ayubi, Said Saim Ali, Haseeb Ayub, Fazaldad, Mohammad Il Yas, Hamood Ullah Khan, Mohammed Arshad Raza, Kay Fiyatullah, Abid Raza, Zahid Sultan, Khalil Rahman Hafez, Mohamed Ijaz, Hanif Mohammed, Mohammed Rafiq, Aminullah Amin, Mohammed Anwar, Bacha Khan, Mohammed Omar, Mohammed Noman, Sultan Ahmad, Saghir Ahmed, Bashir Ahmad, Mohammed Irfan, Mohammed Akbar are repatriated to Pakistan.

September 18: Mohamman Daoud, Dawd Gul, Noor Allah, Wali Mohammed, Badruzzan Badr, Din Mohammed Farhad, Mohammed Khan, Abdul Samad, Haji Niam Kuchi, Bismaullah and Amanullah are repatriated to Afghanistan.

October 27: Four former British detainees launch legal action against the US government. In the first case of its kind, Rasul, Iqbal, Ahmed and al Harith each demand $9m as compensation for alleged torture and other human rights violations. The Pentagon declares that the men are not entitled to a payout because they were captured “in combat”.

November 8: US District Judge James Robertson orders the halt of the military commissions, saying they are unlawful and cannot continue in their current form.

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2005

January 16: Nasser Najiri Amtiri is repatriated to Kuwait.

January 25: Feroz Abbasi, Moazzam Begg, Richard Belmar and Martin Mubanga are repatriated to the UK.

January 27: Mamdouh Ibrahim Ahmed Habib is repatriated to Australia.

March 7: Ridouane Khalid and Khaled Ben Mustafa are repatriated to France. Mustaq Ali Patel is repatriated to France; determined no longer an enemy combatant.

March 11: Abdur Sayed Rahaman is repatriated to Pakistan and Haji Jalil is repatriated to Afghanistan; determined no longer enemy combatants. Ibrahim Fauzee is repatriated to the Maldives.

March 29: The CSRT process is completed. Of the 558 detainees assessed, 38 were judged as “no longer enemy combatants” and were made eligible for release.

April 18: Salih Uyar is repatriated to Turkey; determined no longer an enemy combatant. Mohammed Gul, Gul Zaman, Padsha Wazir, Qalandar Shah, Shahwali Zair Mohammed Shaheen Naqeebyllah, Rasool Shahwali Zair Mohammed Mohammed, Abdul Qudus, Haji Shahzada, Hammdidullah, Mohammad Nasim, Kako Kandahari , Feda Ahmed, Nasibullah, Habib Noor and Hukumra Khan are repatriated to Afghanistan; determined no longer enemy combatants. Abdul Rahman and Abdul Rahim Muslim Dost are repatriated to Afghanistan.

April 19: The Associated Press lauches legal action against the US defence department in an attempt to force the release of transcripts and other documents related to Guantanamo military hearings.

April 25: Mosa Zi Zemmori and Mesut Sen are repatriated to Belgium.

May 20: The Associated Press lawsuit results in the release of nearly 2,000 pages of documents, although detainees’ names and nationalities blacked out. The documents include excerpts from prisoners’ testimonies.

July 15: Judge Robertson’s order to halt military commissions is overturned by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Court.

July 18: Laacin Ikassrin, a citizen of Morocco, is transferred to Spain.

July 19: Habib Rasool and Muhibullah are repatriated to Afghanistan. Khalid Sulayman Jaydh al Hubayshi and Mishal Awad Sayaf Alhabiri are repatriated to Saudi Arabia.  Khalid Mahomoud Abdul Wahab Al Asmris repatriated to Jordan and Hammad Ali Amno Gadallah is repatriated to Sudan; determined no longer enemy combatants.

July 20: Saleh Abdall Al Oshan is repatriated to Saudi custody; determined no longer an enemy combatant.

August 19: Maroof Saleemovich Salehove is repatriated to Tajikistan. Karam Khamis Sayd Khamsan is repatriated to Yemeni custody; determined no longer an enemy combatant. Mohamed Anwar Kurd is repatriated to Iran.

August 29: US District Judge Jed Rakoff orders the government to ask each prisoner whether they want personal information that could be used to identify them to be released to the Associated Press. Of 317 detainees who received the form, 63 said yes, 17 said no, 35 returned the form without answering and 202 did not return the form.

September 11: Abdul Salam Zaeef is repatriated to Afghanistan.

September 30: Sami Abdul Aziz Salim Allaithy is repatriated to Egypt.

November 2: Abdulaziz Sayer Owain al Shammari, Abdallah Saleh Ali al Ajmi, Mohammad Finaytal al Dehani, Adel Zamel Abd al Mahsen al Zamel, Saad Madi Saad al Azmi are repatriated to Kuwait.

November 4: Adil Kamil al-Wadi, Abdullah al Noaimi and Sheikh Salman Ebrahim Mohamed Ali al Khalifa are repatriated to Bahrain. Maji Afas Radhi al Shimri is repatriated to Saudi Arabia.

November 7: The Supreme Court announces it will hear Hamdan v Rumsfeld.

November 10: US Senate approves an amendment that continues to withhold the right for the prisoners to file habeas corpus petitions.

November 14: District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly rules that the Pentagon cannot resume Hicks‘s military commission proceeding until the Supreme Court rules on its constitutionality in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld.

December 30: The Detainee Treatment Act comes into law. The Act bans the use of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners, but severely curtails their right to challenge their detention. 

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2006

February 7: Najib Mohammad Lahassihi, Muhammad Hussein Ali Hassan and Mohammed Souleimani Laalami are repatriated to Morocco. Jamal Abdullah Kiyemba is repatriated to Uganda.

February 8: Khan Zaman, Khudai Dad, Abdul Salaam, Abdullah Khan, Abdul Bagi, Kushky Yar and Sharbat are repatriated to Afghanistan.

February 23: The Pentagon is ordered to release the identities of hundreds of Guantanamo prisoners to the Associated Press as a result of its Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.

February 15: UN Report recommends closure of Guantanamo.

March 3: The Pentagon releases over 5,000 pages of unedited transcripts of at least 317 hearings at Guantanamo to the Associated Press.

March 28: The Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Hamdan v Rumsfeld.

April 20: The Department of Defense releases the names of 558 people who have been held at Guantanamo Bay.

May 5: Ahmed Adil, Akhdar Qasem Basit, Mohammed Ayub, Abu Bakr Qasim and Adel Abdulhehim are transferred to Albania; determined no longer enemy combatants.

May 18: Abdel Hadi Mohammed Badan al Sebaii Sebaii, Ibrahim Daif Allah Neman al Sehli, Abdul Rahman Uthman Ahmed, Adnan Mohammed Ali, Saed Khatem al Malki, Fahd Salih Sulayman al Jutayli, Adil Uqla Hassan al Nusayri, Mohammed Jayed Sebai, Khalid Abdallah Abdel Rahman al Morghi, Abdallah Ibrahim al Rushaydan, Said Bezan Ashek Shayban, Nawaf Fahad al Otaibi, Khalid Rashd Ali al Muri, Abdullah Hamid al Qahtani and Rashid Awad Rashid al Uwaydah are repatriated to Saudi Arabia. Two Guantanamo detainees attempt suicide and a riot breaks out in reaction to the event.

June 10: Saudi Arabian nationals Mani Shaman Turki al-Habardi al-Utaybi and Yasser Talal al-Zahrani, and Ali Abdullah Ahmed of Yemen, die by apparent suicide.

June 24:  Musa Abed al Wahab, Yusif Khalil Abdallah Nur, Muhammad Surur Dakhilallah al Utaybi, Abdul Salam Ghetan, Othman Ahmed Othman al Omairah, Saleh Ali Jaid al Khathami, Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman Abdul Aziz al Baddah, Tariqe Shallah Hassan al Harbi, Abdullah Muhammad Saleh Ganmi, Ibrahim Muhammed Ibrahim al Nasir, Saad Ibraham Saad al Bidna, Wasm Awwad Umar Wasim, Rashid Abdul Mosleh Qayed, Sadik Ahmad Turkistani are repatriated to Saudi Arabia.

June 29: Supreme Court rules that the Bush administration’s military commissions violate the laws of war and international conventions. The court also reiterates that detainees could pursue cases in civilian courts.

July 12: Bush repeals his February 2002 directive and accepts that the Geneva Conventions apply to detainees.

August 24: Murat Kurnaz is transferred to Germany, where he is a legal resident.

August 25: Haji Noorallah, Qari Hasan Ulla Peerzai, Akhtar Mohammed, Haji Nasrat Khan and Said Mohammed are repatriated to Afghanistan.

September 6: Fourteen “high value” detainees are transferred to Guantanamo from secret sites.

September 14: Omar Rajab Amin and Abdullah Kamel Abudallah Kamel are repatriated to Kuwait.

September 26: The Red Cross sends a delegation to Guantanamo to meet with the 14 newly transferred prisoners.

September 28: The Military Commission Act is passed by a Republican-dominated Congress.

October 11: Zia Ul Shah and Abdul Halim Sadiqi repatriated to Pakistan. Muhammad Ben Moujan is repatriated to Morocco. Salah Abdul Rasul Ali Abdul Rahman al Balushi is repatriated to Bahrain. Abdul Majid Muhammed is repatriated to Iran. Abib Sarajuddin, Qari Esmhatulla, Shams Ullah, Khandan Kadir, Mohammed Nasim, Taj Mohammed, Habib Rahman, Mohabet Khan, Shardar Khan, Faiz Ullah, Swar Khan, Anwar Khan, Saida Jan, Mohammed Aman,  Kakai Khan and Ali Shah Mousavi are repatriated to Afghanistan.

October 17: President Bush signs the Military Commissions Act into law. The Act strips US courts of jurisdiction to hear habeas corpus appeals from any foreign national held as an “enemy combatant” in US custody anywhere in the world. It also narrows the scope of the USA’s War Crimes Act, by not expressly criminalising Common Article 3’s prohibition on unfair trials or “outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment”. The Act will allow the CIA’s secret detention programme to continue.

November 17: Zakirjan Asam, Alla Muhammed Saleem and Fethi Boucetta are transferred to Albania; determined no longer enemy combatants.

December 7: First detainees are transferred to the newly-constructed Camp Six.

December 13: Muhammed Yahia Mosin al Zayla, Salim Suliman al Harbi, Yusef Abdullah Saleh al Rabiesh, Salman Saad al Khadi Mohammed, Jabir Jubran al Fayfi, Ibrahim Sulayman Muhammad Arbaysh, Abdullah Muhammed Abdel Aziz, Anwar al Nurr, al Silm Haji Hajjaj Awwad al Hajjaji, Abd al Aziz Muhammad Ibrahim al Nasir, Ziad Said Farg Jahdari, Majed Hamad al Frih, Abdullah Ali Salih al Debakha al Siari, Said Ali al Farha, Sultan Sari Sayel al Anazi and Abdul Rahman Mohammed Hussein Khowlan are repatriated to Saudi Arabia.

December 15:  Ilkham Turdbyavich Batayev, Yakub Abahanov and Abdullah Tohtasinovich Magrupov are repatriated to Kazakhstan. Abdul Rahman Abdullah Mohamed Juma Kahm, Abdul Zahor, Rahmatullah, Hafizullah, Baridad, Alif Mohammed and Akhtiar Mohammad are repatriated to Afghanistan. Toufiq Saber Muhammad al Marwa’i, Ali Husayn Abdullah al Tays, Issam Hamid al Bin Ali al Jayfi, Muhsin Muhammad Musheen Moqbill, Mohammed Ahmed Ali al Asadi, Saleh Mohamed al Zuba are repatriated to Yemen. Mubarak Hussain Bin Abul Hashem is repatriated to Bangladesh. Muhammad Abd Allah Manur Safrani al Futri is repatriated to Libya.

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2007

January 7: Allah Muhammed Saleem is released to Albania; determined no longer enemy combatant.

January 18: The Department of Defense announces the creation of the Military Commissions Manual.

February 20: Majeed Al Joudi, Majid Abdallah Husayn Muhammad al Samluli al Harbi, Majid Aydha Muhammad al Qurayshi, Rashed Awad Khalaf Balkhair, Faizal Saha al Nasir, Nasir Maziyad Abdallah al Qurayshi al Subii and Mohammed Abdullah al Harbi repatriated to Saudi Arabia.

February 28: Rukniddin Fayziddinovich Sharipov and Mehrabanb Fazrollah are repatriated to Tajikistan. Haji Ghalib and Nasser Gul Ghaman are repatriated to Afghanistan. Sobit Valikhonovich Vakhidov, a citizen of Tajikistan, is transferred to an unknown country.

March 9: Combat Status Review Tribunals are held for Ramzi Binalshibh and Abu Faraj Al Libi.

March 10: CSRT held for Khalid Sheik Mohammed.

March 12: CSRT held for Tawfiq Bin Attash.

March 13: CSRT held for Mohamed Farik Bin Amin Zubair.

March 14: CSRT held for Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. He claims torture made him confess to terrorist activities.

March 17: CSRT held for Ahmad Khalfan Ghailani.

March 18:  Two UK residents, Ahmed Rashidi and Ahmed Belbacha are cleared by a Pentagon tribunal but face indefinite detention because the UK refuses to authorize their release.

March 20: CSRT held for Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep.

March 21: CSRT held for Mustafa Al Hawsawi.

March 26: Abdul Malik Abdul-Jabbar, a citizen of Kenya, is transferred to Guantanamo Bay, marking the first time since September 2004 that a detainee has been directly transferred to Guantanamo.

March 27: CSRT held for Abu Zubaida.

March 30: CSRT held for Ammar al Baluchi. Bisher Amin Khalil al Rawi, a citizen of Iraq, is transferred to the UK.

April 4: CSRT held for Hambali.

April 15: CSRT held for Majid Khan.

April 24: Ahmed Rashidi is repatriated to Morocco. Azimullah is repatriated to Afghanistan.

May 18: David Hicks is transferred to Australian custody.

May 30: Abdul Rahman al-Amri commits suicide in Camp Five.

June 17: Lufti Bin Swei Lagha and Abdullah Bin Omar are repatriated to Tunisia.

June 18: Sadeq Muhammad Said Ismail, Ali Mohsen Salih, Hani Abdul Muslih al Shulan and Fawaz Naman Hamoud Abdullah Mahdi are repatriated to Yemen.

July 15: Mohamed Al Qahtani, Saud Dakhil Allah Muslih al Mahayawi, Muhamad Naji Subhi al Juhani, Yahya Samil al Suwaymil al Sulami, Bijad Thif Allah al Atabi, Mazin Salih Musaid al Awfi, Abdul Rahman Owaid Mohammad al Juaid, Bandar Ahmad Mubarak al Jabri, Said Ibrahim Ramzi al Zahrani, Muhammad Abd al Rahman al Kurash, Humud Dakhil Humud Said al Jadan, Khalid Mohammed al Zaharni, Abdullah al Tayabi, Abd al Hizani and Ghanim Abdul Rahman al Harbi are repatriated to Saudi Arabia. Juma Mohammed Abdul Latif al Dosari, a citizen of Bahrain, is transferred to Saudi Arabia.

August 7: Issa Ali Abdullah al Murbati is repatriated to Bahrain.

Mohammed Sharif, Amin Ullah, Abdul Ghani, Mohammed Yacoub and Abdul Razak are repatriated to Afghanistan.

September 5: Majid al Barayan, Abd al Razaq Abdallah Hamid Ibrahim al Sharikh, Fahed al Harazi, Abdul Aziz Saad al Khaldi, Salim Abdallah Said Bahaysh, Musa Bin Ali Bin Said al Amri, Fahd Muhammed Abdullah al Fouzan, Abdulhadi Abdallah Ibrahim al Sharakh, Bader al Bakri al Samiri, Rami Bin Said al Taibi, Khalid Hassan Husayn al Barakat, Mohammed Mubarek Salah al Qurbi, Amran Baqur Mohammed Hawsawi, Abdul Hakim Bukhary, Abdallah Faris al Unazi Thani and Zaban Thaaher Zaban al Shamaree are repatriated to Saudi Arabia.

September 26: Mohammad Lameen Sidi Mohammad is repatriated to Mauritania.

September 28: Ali Muhammed Nasir Mohammed is transferred to Yemen. Abu Sufian Ibrahim Ahmed Hamuda Bin Qumu is repatriated to Libya. Sabar Lal Melma, Juma Din, Said Amir Jan, Allah Nasir, Abdul Ahmad and Mohi Bullar are repatriated to Afghanistan.

November 2: Fizaulla Rahman, Abdullah Hekmat, Abdul Nasir, Mohammed Quasam, Naserullah, Hiztullah Nasrat Yar, Shabir Ahmed and Nahir Shah are repatriated to Afghanistan. Usama Hassan Ahmed Abu Kabir, Ahmed Hassan Jamil Suleyman and Ibrahim Mahdi Achmed Zeidan are repatriated to Jordan.

November 9: Sultan Ahmed Dirdeer Musa al Uwaydha, Khalid Saud Abd al Rahman al Bawardi, Yussef Mohammed Mubarak al Shihri Faha Sultan, Turki Mash Awi Zayid al Asiri, Murtadha al Said Makram, Fahd Umr Abd al Majid al Sharif, Nayif Abdallah Ibrahim Ibrahim, Abdullah Abd al Muin al Wafti, Muhammad al Awfi, Said Ali al Shihri, Hani Saiid Mohammad al Khalif and Jabir Hasan Mohammed al-Qahtani are repatriated to Saudi Arabia. Zaid Muhamamd Sa’ad al Husayn, a citizen of Jordan, is transferred to Saudi Arabia.

December 12: Gholam Ruhani, Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul, Abdul Rauf Aliza, Umar Abdullah al Kunduzi, Abdul Razzaq, Abdul Ghafour, Abdullah Wazir , Hafizullah Shabaz Khail, Abdul Matin, Aminullah Baryalai Tukhi, Gul Chaman, Abdul Ghafaar and Abdullah Mujahid are repatriated to Afghanistan. Salim Mahmoud Adem Mohammed Bani Amir and Adel Hassan are repatriated to Sudan.

December 19: Sameur Abdenour, Omar Amer Deghayes and Jamil El Banna are transferred to the UK.

December 28: Abdul Aziz Al Matrafi, Mesh Arsad al Rashid, Jamil Ali al Kabi , Abdullah Ali al Utaybi, Faris Muslim al Ansari, Abdul Rahman Nashi Badi al Hataybi, Zaid Binsallah Mohammed Il Bhawith, Nayif Fahd Mutliq al Usaymi, Khalid Malu Shia al Ghatani and Abdul Hakim Abdul Rahman Abduaziz al Mousa are repatriated to Saudi Arabia.

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2008

April 30: Walid Mohammad Haj Mohammad Ali, Sami al Hajj and Amir Yakoub Mohammed al Amir Mahmoud are repatriated to Sudan.

May 20: Murat Kurnaz becomes the first ex-Guantanamo detainee to testify before the US Congress, which he does from Germany via videolink.

June 12: The United States Supreme Court rules on Boumediene v Bush and Al Odah v United States that detainees at Guantanamo Bay should have a right to challenge their detention in US Federal Courts through habeas corpus petitions.

June 30: Military Commission Charges sworn against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri.

July 2: Abdul Raham Houari and Mustafa Ahmed Hamlily are repatriated to Algeria.

July 26: Jaralla Saleh Mohammed Kahla al Marri is repatriated to Qatar. Mohammed Mussa Yakubi is repatriated to Afghanistan.

July 28: Abdullah al-Hamiri repatriated to the UAE.

August 6: A military jury finds Salim Hamdan guilty of supporting terrorism but not of conspiring in terrorist attacks.

August 25: Mohammed Abd al al Qadir and Abdulli Feghoul repatriated to Algeria.

August 31: Muhammed Saad Iqbal Madni is repatriated to Pakistan. Abdul Wahab and Mahbub Rahman are repatriated to Afghanistan.

October 6: Mustafa Ibrahim Mustafa al Hassan is repatriated to Sudan. Mammar Ameur is repatriated to Algeria.

October 31: Abdulrahim Kerimbakiev is repatriated to Kazakhstan. Zainulabidin Merozhev is repatriated to Tajikistan.

November 4: Muhamed Hussein Abdallah is transferred to Somaliland.

November 10: Labed Ahmed and Soufian Abar Huwari are repatriated to Algeria.

November 16: Barack Obama declares his intention to close Guantanamo.

November 25: Salim Hamdan is transferred to Yemeni custody. He is sentenced to 5 and a half years in prison, with 5 years and one month credited for pre-trial confinement.

December 16: Mohammed Nechle Mustafa Ait Idr and Hadj Boudella are transferred to Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are three members of the “Algerian Five” who were ruled releasable in the Washington District Court on November.

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2009

January 14: A public statement admitting that a detainee was tortured is released for the first time by a senior Bush administration official responsible for reviewing practices at Guantanamo Bay. The statement admitted that the treatment of a Saudi national (Mohammed al-Qahtani) met the legal definition of torture.

January 17: Ali Abdul Motalib Awayd Hassan al Tayeea, Hassan Abdul Said, Arkan Mohammad Ghafil al Karim and Abbas Habid Rumi al Naely are repatriated to Iraq. Hassan Mujamma Rabai Said is repatriated to Algeria. Haji Bismullah is repatriated to Afghanistan.

January 22: President Obama issues three executive orders: one ordering the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay in one year, another banning the use of controversial CIA interrogation techniques, and a third ordering the review of detention policy options.

February 23: Binyam Mohamed is transferred to the UK.

May 15: Lakhdar Boumediene is transferred to France. He had been held since 2002 and had be used by lawyers to win the landmark Supreme Court case which ruled detainees at Guantanamo Bay had the right to habeas corpus.  Meanwhile, President Obama announces he will continue with the much criticized system of military tribunals that President Bush created to try terrorism suspects, albeit in a different form.

June 1: Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh al Hanashi dies at Guantanamo.

June 9: The first detainee, Ahmed Ghailani, who is not an American citizen is brought from Guantanamo Bay to the United States to face a federal trial.

June 10: Jawad Jabber Sadkhan is repatriated to Iraq.

June 11: Abdul Helil Mamut, Abdullah Abdulqadirakhun, Emam Abdulahat and Hozaifa Parhat are transferred to Bermuda.

Mohammed el Gharani, the youngest prisoner to be held in Guantanamo Bay, is released. He was 14 when he was arrested in Pakistan in 2001.

June 12: Khalid Saad Mohammed, Ahmed Zaid Salim Zuhair and Abdalaziz Kareem Salim al Noofayaee are repatriated to Saudi Arabia.

July 21: Panel ordered by Obama to review US detention practices delays its report undefinedto the president by six months, but the administration insists it is on track to shut the prison by January 2010.

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Material for this timeline was provided by Reprieve, a legal charity based in London. Reprieve provides legal representation to around 30 prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and investigates US-run secret prisons around the world.