US discloses names of 55 Gitmo prisoners to be transferred

The names of 55 Guantanamo Bay detention camp prisoners were disclosed Friday by the Department of Justice who have been approved for transfer to other countries, it was reported here. The Justice Department said in its filing that "there is no longer a need to withhold from the public the status of detainees who have been approved for transfer." Commenting on this, senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) National Security Project Zachary Katznelson said in a statement that "today's release is a partial victory for transparency, and it should also be a spur to action." "These men have now spent three years in prison since our military and intelligence agencies all agreed they should be released," Katznelson stressed. The Department affirmed in its filing that "the efforts of the United States to resettle Guantanamo detainees have largely been successful; they have resulted in 40 detainees being resettled in third countries because of treatment or other concerns in their countries of origin since 2009." It added "in addition, 28 detainees have been repatriated to their countries of origin since 2009." Currently, there are 167 detainees held in the detention camp.