US President Joe Biden was criticised by several users on social media after claims emerged that he has ordered the release of some 9/11 terrorists from the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp in Cuba. The rumours came after the Pentagon said in a press release on Monday (Jan 6) that it has transferred 11 Yemeni detainees from the controversial camp in Cuba to Oman.

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The detainees who were transferred include Uthman Abd al-Rahim Muhammad Uthman, Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi, Khalid Ahmed Qassim, Suhayl Abdul Anam al Sharabi, Hani Saleh Rashid Abdullah, Tawfiq Nasir Awad Al-Bihani, Omar Mohammed Ali al-Rammah, Sanad Ali Yislam Al Kazimi, Hassan Muhammad Ali Bib Attash, Sharqawi Abdu Ali Al Hajj, and Abd Al-Salam Al-Hilah.

Biden had earlier vowed to shut down the Guantanamo Bay facility, with just 15 more detainees lodged there. Of these 15, three are eligible for transfer, said the press release from the Department of Defense.

Claims on social media

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As soon as these reports came, some users started claiming on social media that the Biden administration had released Yemeni terrorists just days before leaving office.

One user on X wrote, “Joe Biden has just RELEASED 11 YEMENI TERRORlSTS from Guantanamo Bay just days before leaving office.”

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“Infuriating”.

“These terr*rists were captured in the aftermath of 9/11, and despite the rapidly deteriorating state of the Middle East, Biden decided to send them back to the field anyway,” he added.

A second user wrote, “Biden has done a crazy amount of damage not only America but the entire world.”

Are these claims true?

However, these claims are not true.

The Pentagon has already clarified that one of these detainees was transferred to Oman under 2009 Executive Order 13492, and Congress was already notified about this impending move in September 2023.

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However, the authorities have not declared why these detainees were being transferred to Oman and under what deal. The Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp was opened by former president George W Bush in 2002 to hold terrorism suspects and 'illegal enemy combatants' following the tragic 9/11 terror attack.

(With inputs from agencies)