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December 2, 2015

Pentagon: Man Imprisoned at Guantánamo Due to Mistaken Identity 
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U.S. officials have admitted that a man who has been imprisoned for 13
years at Guantánamo Bay was captured in a case of mistaken identity.
Pentagon officials conceded they wrongly believed 37-year-old Mustafa
al-Aziz al-Shamiri had played a more significant role in Al-Qaeda
because they confused him with others who had similar names. Despite
this acknowledgement, he is still imprisoned, and it is not clear if and
when he may be freed. This comes as the White House has rejected the
Pentagon's draft plan for closing the Guantanamo military prison, saying
it is too expensive. The Pentagon's plan called for more than $600
million to close the prison and construct a new U.S.-based facility to
hold remaining prisoners, at an annual operating cost of $300 million.
The annual cost of operating the Guantanamo detention facility now is
about $400 million.

 

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