Ghana’s lawmakers have ratified an agreement that allows two former Guantanamo Bay prisoners to stay in the West African country.
Ghana’s Supreme Court had in June ruled that the government, then led by President John Dramani Mahama, erred in approving the detainees’ transfer into the country, saying that the agreement with the United States was an international one that required approval by members of Parliament.
The state-owned Ghana News Agency reported Wednesday that the two men of Yemeni origin now will be able to stay in Ghana following the parliament’s approval.
The two men were held at the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as enemy combatants, accused of training with al-Qaida and fighting with the Taliban.
They had been cleared for release in 2009, but the United States won’t send Guantanamo prisoners to Yemen because of instability there. Officials had to find another country to accept them.
