Cuba, December 30: The majority of 170 prisoners currently held in Guantanamo Bay military camp are Yemeni nationals, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says.
According to the ICRC, a total of 90 Yemeni inmates are currently held in custody at the notorious US prison camp.
Saudi, Afghan, Pakistani, and Moroccan nationals are among other nationalities currently detained at the infamous US military prison.
Meanwhile, four families in Yemen have been able to visit their relatives detained at the prison for the first time through a video link, the ICRC said Wednesday, adding that it hoped to expand the service.
“It went extremely well, and definitely, this is something we want to repeat,” said ICRC spokeswoman Dorothea Krimitsas, quoted by AFP.
The ICRC had run the first round of calls in Sanaa on December 17, while the second round was completed this week in Aden.
“The video calls, which can last up to one hour, give the detainees and their families the opportunity not only to speak but also to see each other, in some cases for the first time in almost a decade,” said the ICRC.
The Guantanamo Bay prison was established by the American military in 2002 in order to hold captured suspects in the US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
US President Barack Obama promised to shut down the prison camp within a year after his election into office but has so far failed to do so.
——–Agencies