82 inmates cleared but still held at Guantánamo

More than a fifth of the approximately 385 prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, have been cleared for release but may have to wait months or years for their freedom because US officials are finding it increasingly difficult to line up places to send them, according to Bush administration officials and defense lawyers. Since February, the Pentagon has notified about 85 inmates or their attorneys that they are eligible to leave after being cleared by military review panels. But only a handful have gone home. Eighty-two remain at Guantánamo and face indefinite waits as US officials struggle to figure out when and where to deport them, and under what conditions. In many cases, the prisoners' countries do not want them back. Yemen, for instance, has balked at accepting some of the 106 Yemeni nationals at Guantánamo by challenging the legality of their citizenship. Compounding the problem are persistent refusals by the United States, its European allies and other countries to grant asylum to prisoners who are stateless or have no place to go. "In general, most countries simply do not want to help," said John B. Bellinger III, legal adviser to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "Countries believe this is not their problem. They think they didn't contribute to Guantánamo, and therefore they don't have to be part of the solution." Other prisoner advocates said the Bush administration has made its task more difficult by exaggerating the threat posed by most Guantánamo inmates–officials repeatedly called them "the worst of the worst"–and refusing to acknowledge mistaken detentions. Foreign governments have also questioned why US officials should expect other countries to pitch in, given that Washington won't offer asylum to detainees either. "This is a problem of our own creation, and yet we expect other countries to shoulder the entire burden of a solution," said Ben Wizner, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. "The US has to bear some of that burden. It can't simply expect its partners and allies to absorb all its detainees." The 82 cleared prisoners who remain stuck in limbo come from 16 countries in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, according to defense attorneys who have received official notification of their clients' status. The 17 Chinese Muslim separatists make up the largest contingent. Other countries with multiple prisoners awaiting release include Afghanistan, Sudan, Tunisia, Uzbekistan and Yemen. Of the roughly 385 still incarcerated, US officials said they intend to eventually put 60 to 80 on trial and free the rest.