Exclusive: Gitmo Parole Board Greenlights Release Of 3 'Forever Prisoners'

The last remaining 15 terrorist detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, military prison are considered the “worst of the worst,” “high-value detainees,” and “forever prisoners,” but Gitmo parole records reveal that at least three of the violent jihadists have been recommended for release recently despite high recidivism rates.

One is Mjuayn al-din Jamal al-Din Abd al-Sattar, a “committed member of al-Qaeda” who was reportedly close to Osama bin Laden. The Saudi-educated Emirati fought at Tora Bora and was later captured in Pakistan near the Afghan border in December 2001.

According to transcripts of his parole hearing, reported for the first time by RealClearInvestigations, he denies having any prior knowledge of the 9/11 plot, even though he attended one of the al-Qaeda training camps in Kandahar. Friday marks the 25th anniversary of the al-Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., which slaughtered almost 3,000.

Al-Sattar’s enemy combatant dossier, written when? “The detainee preaches [on his cell block] about wanting to kill all Americans, including men, women, children and babies,” and is considered “high risk” and “likely to pose a threat to the US.” He also threatened to cut off a guard’s head. Yet he’s been cleared for parole.

‘Fight Until His Death’

Another inmate queued up for release is Guleed Hassan Douran. A citizen of Somalia, this “high-value detainee” was an “al-Qaeda cell leader and senior facilitator” and received terror training at camps in Afghanistan in the late 1990s, according to transcripts of his parole hearing. His 2016 detention dossier warned he “has expressed interest in reengaging in extremism if released,” adding, “Detainee has stated that he would fight until his death for the cause.”

But the Gitmo parole board no longer deems Douran a threat – apparently accepting his claim that he just wants to go back home and get a job to support his family – and has “undertaken to identify a suitable transfer location for [Douran], subject to appropriate security and humane treatment assurances.”

A third detainee set for transfer, Ismail Ali Faraj Ali Bakush, was captured in Lahore, Pakistan, after fighting for al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The Libyan is an explosives expert who, voluminous evidence shows, trained al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan. According to his dossier, he never renounced terrorism and would likely reengage in it.

Still, the parole board has approved plans for Bakush’s “resettlement to a third country with strong rehabilitation capabilities.” Only, those countries, such as Saudi Arabia, have a terrible track record of rehabbing former Gitmo inmates. 

Rampant Recidivism

According to the most recent Office of National Intelligence report on “reengagement” of former Gitmo detainees, 234 of the 739 who were freed are suspected of resisting rehabilitation and going back to jihad. And of those 234 recidivists, 155 were never recaptured and are still at large.

That means two-thirds of these committed terrorists are unaccounted for and could be involved in plotting another 9/11. Government reports suggest such concerns are not alarmist, especially given that the top destination country for those released is Afghanistan, where the Taliban is running things again – just like before 9/11, when they sheltered bin Laden’s gang.

“We assess that some detainees currently at GTMO will seek to reengage in terrorist or insurgent activities after they are transferred,” the 2025 Office of National Intelligence report states, matter-of-factly.

To critics of the release policy, the word “some” is doing a lot of work in that sentence, masking the determination that one in three released detainees return to terror.

“This is absolute insanity. What the hell are these people thinking?” said former FAA special agent and Ret. U.S. Army Lt. Col. Brian Sullivan, who warned of airport security holes before the 9/11 hijackings. “They know the recidivism rate and their likelihood to reoffend. They’ll have American blood on their hands.” Formally known as the Periodic Review Board, the parole panel is composed of one senior official from the Departments of War, Homeland Security, State, Justice, the Joint Staff and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Their identities are undisclosed.

RCI has sought comment from the board, whose members rotate periodically. Those who recommended the transfers were part of the Biden administration.

Board members have largely agreed with defense attorneys who have argued in parole hearings that the prisoners have been confined long enough and are no longer a threat to society.

In Guleed Hassan Duran's case, for instance, his lawyers notes that he has been held without charges since 2004. "It has been very hard on me," Duran complained in a hearing in July 2021. "But I'm not the same person I was when I was arrested in 2004. All I want is to be reunited with my wife and my children. I am willing to be transferred anywhere, under any circumstances, where I can live a quiet life and eventually be united with my family. I want to get a job and support them the way I have not been able to for [a] long time. I hope your decision will allowed [sic] me to have a future beyond Guantanamo."

Several months later, in November 2021, the Gitmo board ruled that it "is no longer necessary" to detain Duran because it determined he is no longer a "continuing significant threat to the security of the United States." In turn, it ordered efforts be undertaken to "identify a suitable transfer for [Duran] outside the United States, subject to appropriate security and humane treatment assurances." When Duran may be transferred remains unknown.

Meanwhile, the State Department has said the Taliban have been lobbying hard for the release of a fourth prisoner, Muhammad Rahim, an Afghan national the U.S. says acted as a courier for bin Laden and had advance knowledge of the 9/11 attacks.

The Taliban want to swap him for an American contractor they seized after taking back Kabul in 2021 during the disastrous Biden withdrawal. But so far, the Trump administration hasn’t been willing to make a deal.

Over his two terms, President Trump has released just one detainee, transferring him to a prison in Saudi Arabia, compared with 25 freed by President Biden, and 200 by President Obama. The Bush administration released some 540 from the prison.

Victims’ Families Furious

Some 9/11 relatives are furious that the most dangerous Gitmo detainees continue to be eligible for parole.

“Where is the justice for 3,000 innocent murdered civilians?” said Kristen Breitweiser, whose husband was killed in the World Trade Center attacks. “We have been robbed of justice. Plain and simple.”

Sullivan agrees, asserting that the remaining 15 high-value terrorist detainees “should have been tried, convicted and executed long ago.”

“The American justice system is being mocked by our adversaries and allies alike,” he added.

Last month, a military judge set a June 2028 trial date for the dozen other Gitmo detainees who are not recommended for release, including 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The judge, Lt. Col Michael Schrama, the fifth judge to preside in the case, sided with defense attorneys and ruled that the terrorists’ confessions and other evidence obtained during so-called “torture” interrogations by the CIA will not be allowed in court.

“I know the media slings the ‘water-boarding’ arrow and blames the CIA for the trial delays,” Sullivan said, “but I can’t help but put myself in their shoes if I was trying to prevent another attack.”

Original article link: RealClearInvestigations