Chapter 5 Towards the Closure of Guantanamo: International Legal Obligations | 121 with regard to the Transfer or Release of Detainees not transferred or removed and that diplomatic assurances are not used to circumvent the State’s non-refoulement obligation.”358 297. In the framework of precautionary measure 259/02 granted on behalf of Guantanamo detainees the IACHR requested the United States to fully respect the non-refoulement principle. This request was reiterated in precautionary measure 211/08 granted on behalf of Djamel Ameziane, a member of Algeria’s ethnic Berber minority, who claimed he could be subjected to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment if deported to his native country. Despite these requests, the United States has forcibly transferred detainees to their home country, where there were substantial grounds for believing that they would be in danger of being unlawfully detained and/or subjected to torture. There are also reports about the imprisonment of former Guantanamo detainees once repatriated to their home countries and the fact that their legal status is not clear. 359 The United States, however, argues that, as a matter of fundamental policy and practice, the United States does not transfer any individual to a foreign country if it is more likely than not that the person would be tortured. 360 298. Detainee Abdul Aziz Naji was transferred to Algeria on or about July 17, 2010, by all reports against his will. He had reportedly stated that he would rather remain in Guantanamo than be sent to his country of origin, where he feared persecution and torture by the Algerian government or fundamentalist groups. 361 On his arrival in Algeria, his whereabouts were reported as unknown; neither his relatives nor his lawyers have apparently had contact with him. 362 After 20 days in prison he was released but kept under constant surveillance. Press reports indicate that on January 16, 2012, after a one-hour trial, Mr. Naji was sentenced to three years in prison based on unsubstantiated accusations the United States made against him in 2002; no new evidence was supposedly presented. 363 Mr. Naji reportedly came very close to death while in prison and had no contact with his counsel after the transfer. 364 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 IACHR, Resolution No. 2/06, On Guantanamo Bay Precautionary Measures, July 28, 2006. See in this regard, interview with Lakhdar Boumediene. Available at: http://www.nogitmos.org/exguant%C3%A1namoprisonerlakhdarboumedienetalksaboutrebuildinghislifefranc e Submission of the Government of the United States to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights with respect to the Draft Report on the Closure of Guantanamo, OEA/Ser.L/V.II.Doc. 30 January 2015, March 30, 2015, p. 10. The New York Times, Fear for Freedom, July 24, 2010. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/opinion/25sun1.html IACHR deplores forced transfer of Guantanamo detainee, Press Release No. 75/10, August 2, 2010. See in this regard, Truthout, Former Guantanamo Prisoner Who Alleged US Torture, Drugging, Sentenced by Algerian Authorities, January 31, 2012. Available at: http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/6386:formerguantánamo-prisoner-who-alleged-us-torture-drugging-sentenced-by-algerian-authorities; and Andy Worthington, Algeria’s Ongoing Persecution of Former Guantanamo Prisoner Abdul Aziz Naji, September 18, 2013. Available at: http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2013/09/18/algerias-ongoing-persecution-of-formerguantanamo-prisoner-abdul-aziz-naji/ IACHR, Expert Meeting on the situation of detainees held at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Washington DC, October 3, 2013. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR