The Pentagon transferred another Guantanamo Bay detainee on Tuesday, the second in a week as the administration tries to close the military prison before President Obama leaves office.
Abdul Shalabi was transferred to Saudi Arabia after a Period Review Board cleared his release on June 15, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.
There are 114 detainees remaining at the prison.
Younis Abdurrahman Chekkouri was transferred on Thursday to Morocco.
The administration is working to release as many cleared prisoners as possible before 2017 to help Obama make good on a campaign promise to close the prison.
Even if the administration is able to work out security agreements and find countries to take the remaining cleared prisoners, some detainees still can’t be released. Defense Department officials recently visited military prisons in Kansas and South Carolina to assess the cost of retrofitting a prison on U.S. soil to house Gitmo detainees.
Congress has a ban on the transfer of detainees to the U.S., even for medical care.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., supports the administration’s efforts to close the prison both because it is used as propaganda for terrorist recruiters and because of the high cost to the American taxpayer. He has expressed frustration that the White House has yet to provide a plan to do so, despite promising to present one to Congress months ago.
