Two high-ranking U.S. officials and a former high-ranking government official told NBC that at least two more detainees will be moved from Gitmo in the coming weeks.
Last week, the entire nation was distracted by a Chinese espionage balloon while the Biden government released one of the masterminds behind 9/11 from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba without warning.
On Thursday, Majid Khan’s legal team declared that he has been transferred to Belize at the age of 42.
“Today, more than 16 years after he was brought to Guantánamo Bay and almost a year after he completed a military commission sentence there, pursuant to a plea and cooperation agreement with U.S. authorities, Majid Khan was transferred to Belize,” his legal team said in a statement.
Khan stands apart as a singular detainee to be relocated to the Western Hemisphere in accordance with the Biden administration’s resettlement policy.
“He is the first of the prisoners transferred from secret CIA detention to Guantánamo in September 2006 to be released, and the first third-country resettlement by the Biden administration. Mr. Khan and his legal team are deeply grateful to Belize for offering him a chance to begin a new life.”
“I have been given a second chance in life and intend to make the most of it,” said Khan in a statement issued by his legal team.
“I deeply regret the things that I did many years ago, and I have taken responsibility and tried to make up for them. I continue to ask for forgiveness from God and those I have hurt. I am truly sorry. The world has changed a lot in 20 years, and I have changed a lot as well. I promise all of you, especially the people of Belize, that I will be a productive, law-abiding member of society. Thank you for believing in me, and I will not let you down. My actions will speak louder than my words.”
The Biden administration has reached out to roughly a dozen countries in an attempt to give Khan, who is stateless and homeless, a new residence. This information was reported by NBC News.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s direct involvement in the negotiation process was confirmed by two separate U.S. sources and discussed during a September meeting with Belizean Prime Minister, where his personal input and guidance played an influential role in finalizing the deal.
Moreover, two high-level U.S. officials and a former senior government official have informed NBC that in the forthcoming weeks, at least two more prisoners will be relocated from Guantanamo Bay Detention Center (Gitmo).
As a legal U.S. resident and the only known Pakistani citizen held in Guantanamo, Khan was given asylum when he went to high school near Baltimore back in 1998. In 2002, he made his way back to Pakistan and subsequently became a member of Al Qaeda. Moreover, he was an immediate subordinate to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (or KSM) – the leading operational planner for Al Qaeda as well as the mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
As per the records of the United States, KSM charged Khan to deliver funds and transport yet another senior Al Qaeda member in order to execute a fatal attack on Jakarta’s Marriott Hotel back in August 2003. The American government also claims that KSM planned for Khan to target U.S. gas stations and water reservoirs as well.
In March 2003, Khan was apprehended in Karachi and brought to a CIA black site. A Senate Intelligence Committee report then revealed that he had been subjected to sleep deprivation, an ice water bath, forced rectal feeding and rehydration. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, described the treatment as torture in her report.
As a legal U.S. resident and the only known Pakistani citizen held in Guantanamo, Khan was given asylum when he went to high school near Baltimore back in 1998. In 2002, he made his way back to Pakistan and subsequently became a member of Al Qaeda. Moreover, he was an immediate subordinate to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (or KSM) – the leading operational planner for Al Qaeda as well as the mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
As per the records of the United States, KSM charged Khan to deliver funds and transport yet another senior Al Qaeda member in order to execute a fatal attack on Jakarta’s Marriott Hotel back in August 2003. The American government also claims that KSM planned for Khan to target U.S. gas stations and water reservoirs as well.
In March 2003, Khan was apprehended in Karachi and brought to a CIA black site. A Senate Intelligence Committee report then revealed that he had been subjected to sleep deprivation, an ice water bath, forced rectal feeding and rehydration. Senator Dianne Feinstein, a communist Democrat of California and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, described the treatment as torture in her report.
In 2006, President George W. Bush declared that 14 “high-value detainees”, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and Khan, would be moved from CIA detainment centers to Guantanamo Bay in order to appear before a military tribunal. KSM was first apprehended in Pakistan back in March 2003 at one of the secret black sites.
In 2012, Khan was convicted of terrorism and sentenced to 10 years in detention. On March 1st, 2022 – that sentence officially came to an end. Although he still has family members residing in the U.S., federal law does not permit Guantanamo detainees from being settled stateside