Ghana Court Rejects Resettlement of Guantánamo Bay Detainees
On Thursday, the Supreme Court justices ruled that Ghana’s government, then led by President John Dramani Mahama, erred in approving the detainees’ transfer, saying
that the agreement with the United States was an international one that required approval by members of Parliament.
Last year, Ghana signed an agreement with the United States to allow the two detainees, Khalid Mohammed Salih al-Dhuby
and Mahmmoud Omar Mohammed Bin Atef, both citizens of Yemen, to resettle in Ghana.
Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo said that unless the government submitted the agreement to Parliament
for approval within three months, the two men would be returned to the United States.
The two were captured by Afghan forces in late 2001
and turned over to the United States, and detained at the American prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as enemy combatants for 14 years, accused of being members of Al Qaeda.
Mr. Mahama, who was president at the time the deal was struck, had said
that the two men did not present a security threat and that the United States had directly requested that Ghana accept them for resettlement.
By NANA BOAKYE-YIADOMJUNE 22, 2017
ACCRA, Ghana — The Supreme Court of Ghana ruled Thursday
that the government’s decision to allow two former Guantánamo Bay detainees to live in the country was unconstitutional.