The United State (US) government has worked out a diplomatic arrangement to release Kenyan Mohammed Malik Bajabu and Guled Hassan Duran, a Somali, from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba.
Bajabu has been held in the facility since 2007 while Duran has been detained since 2006.
According to CNN, the two were cleared for release, according to public documents.
The decisions come as the prison marked 20 years this week since it was opened under the George W. Bush administration.
CNN reported that President Joe Biden has said publicly that he wants to close the detention facility and the National Security Council is undergoing a review of the facility “to determine the way forward.
Fifteen detainees have also been cleared for transfer by the Periodic Review Board.
According to Department of Defense filings, Bajabu was a facilitator for al Qaeda before he was detained.
The Periodic Review Board noted that its decision to clear Bajabu for release was based on his low level of training and lack of leadership role in his pre-detention activities.
Duran is the first “high value” detainee to be cleared by the Periodic Review Board, his attorney told CNN.
