Trump moving toward first Gitmo prisoner transfer: report

The U.S. is moving toward transferring the first detainee from the Guantánamo Bay prison since President Trump took office.

Navy Cmdr. Sarah Higgins, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon, told Reuters the administration is advancing toward transferring Ahmed Muhammed Haza al-Darbi to Saudi Arabia.

Al-Darbi became eligible for transfer in February, but the process appeared to have stalled at the time.

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“The transfer process is moving forward,” Higgins told Reuters. “I have no further information on transfer timing.”

She said that the U.S. was still “reviewing information received from Saudi Arabia regarding al-Darbi’s transfer.”

The transfer would be the first under the Trump administration and would reduce the prison’s detainee population from 41 to 40, according to Reuters. News that the process is moving forward comes as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is set for a Tuesday visit to the White House.

The facility was opened as a prison for terror suspects under former President George W. Bush in 2002 after the September 11 terrorist attacks. It has gained a reputation for harsh conditions and interrogation tactics.

Former President Obama vowed to shutter the facility but never achieved that goal.

In contrast, Trump pledged to keep it open and expand its operations, saying on the campaign trail that he would “load it up with some bad dudes.”

Al-Darbi in 2014 pleaded guilty before a military commission to charges related to helping plot a 2002 al Qaeda attack on a French oil tanker.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, he was to testify against two other Guantánamo detainees awaiting trials by the military tribunal. In exchange, he would be allowed to serve the remainder of his 13-year sentence in a rehabilitation program in Saudi Arabia.

His agreement stipulated he would be transferred four years after his guilty plea, a date that came in February.