Five Guantanamo prisoners moved to Kazakhstan

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon has transferred five detainees from the prison at Guantanamo Bay to Kazakhstan, making 2014 the year with the highest number of releases since President Barack Obama took office.

The releases are in keeping with Obama’s pledge to eventually close the prison, though some lawmakers have objected to his efforts to move some detainees to the U.S.

The five men, three from Yemen and two from Tunisia, left Tuesday, U.S. military officials said. The number of remaining detainees is 127.

None of the freed prisoners was ever charged with a crime, and all had been cleared for release, some as long ago as 2009.

The Yemenis were identified as Asim Thabit Abdullah Khalaqi, 46; Muhammad Ali Husayn Khanayna, 36; and Sabri Muhammad Ibrahim Qurashi, 44. The Tunisians were identified as Adel Hakeemy, 49; and Abdullah Bin Ali Lufti, 49.

U.S. authorities did not explain why the five men were allowed to leave now, or how they would be resettled in Kazakhstan.

Government records released by WikiLeaks showed that Lufti has had severe heart problems and in 1999 was given a mechanical heart valve. He also has suffered from kidney stones and tuberculosis.