U.S. repatriates Tunisian held without charge at Guantanamo Bay since 2002 [Video]

The U.S. has repatriated a detainee from its military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba to Tunisia, the Pentagon announced Monday, the fourth detainee to be transferred this month.

Ridah Bin Saleh al-Yazidi, 59, was determined to be eligible for transfer after a “rigorous interagency review process,” the U.S. Department of Defense said in a statement, more than 22 years after he was first brought to the facility.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin notified Congress about his intent to repatriate Yazidi to Tunisia in January 2024. He was never charged with a crime.

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Rights groups say Yazidi, a Tunisian national, had been incarcerated at Guantanamo since the day it opened on January 11, 2002.

According to a 2007 U.S. military assessment, Yazidi was accused of being a member of the militant group al Qaeda.

However, human rights groups have long been critical of …