Recommendations

To the Government of the United States

• Prosecute in US federal court any Yemenis held at Guantanamo and Bagram who are implicated in terrorism-related offenses.
• Promptly repatriate any Yemenis who will not be prosecuted in the United States and who do not express a credible fear of torture or persecution at home.
• Resettle in a safe third country any Yemeni who cannot be repatriated due to a credible fear of torture or persecution at home.
• Fund comprehensive job training, education, counseling, and other rehabilitation services for repatriated detainees, many of whom are in their eighth year of unlawful US custody.
• Share any credible evidence implicating former detainees in criminal acts with the appropriate Yemeni authorities.
• Do not pressure the Yemeni government to hold repatriated detainees without charge, or to impose other restrictions without due process.
• Apologize and provide suitable compensation to detainees arbitrarily detained, tortured or otherwise mistreated in US custody.
• Create a non-partisan investigatory body (a truth commission) with subpoena power to investigate allegations of abuse of Yemenis and other nationals as a result of US counterterrorism policies and practices. The panel should address who should be held criminally accountable for these abuses and how such accountability can be achieved.
• Protest publicly and at the diplomatic level any mistreatment in Yemen of former detainees.

To the Government of Yemen

• Provide returnees from Guantanamo and Bagram with access to medical care, psychological and religious counseling, job training, education, and financial assistance.
• Do not use rehabilitation as a justification for indefinite detention without charge. Offer reintegration programs in the least restrictive settings possible.
• Conduct thorough and impartial criminal investigations of any repatriated detainees suspected of criminal offenses.
• Prosecute those charged with crimes in proceedings that meet international fair trial standards. These standards include holding trials before impartial and independent courts, ensuring that defendants have access to counsel and adequate time and facilities to prepare a defense, and prohibiting the use of evidence obtained through torture. Persons incarcerated after conviction should be imprisoned in facilities that meet international standards.
• Do not impose arbitrary restrictions on released detainees' movements and associations. Security restrictions that fall short of criminal sanctions should only be imposed according to law and after a fair and transparent process that offers the detainee a fair opportunity to challenge them.
• Allow impartial and independent nongovernmental organizations, both national and international, to monitor repatriation, detention, and reintegration procedures to evaluate their effectiveness and safeguard the rights of persons subject to them.
• Enforce bans on torture codified in Yemeni law and in the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
• Do not hold hostage the relatives of former detainees for the purpose of compelling the former detainees' surrender.
• Establish independent, judicial oversight over the Political Security Organization and National Security Bureau, particularly their powers of arrest and places of detention.
• Grant UN human rights monitoring bodies and independent local and international human rights organizations regular access to all prisoners in Yemen, including any prisoners repatriated from Guantanamo and Bagram.

To the League of Arab States, Member States of the European Union, and United Nations Specialized Programs

• Provide political and economic support for efforts to rapidly and humanely repatriate Yemenis from Guantanamo, provide rehabilitation services, and address security concerns while protecting the right to due process and other fundamental rights of returned detainees.