The US Department of Defense (DOD) [official website] on Monday announced the transfer [press release] of two Guantanamo detainees to Serbia. Yemeni detainee Mansur Ahmad Saad al-Dayfi and Tajik detainee Muhammadi Davlatov were transferred to Serbia after extensive review. The transfers come after Sunday’s announcement that Yemeni Guantanamo detainee Fayiz Ahmad Yahia Suleiman had been transferred to Italy [press release]. The US government expressed gratitude to the governments of Italy and Serbia for their willingness to accept the detainees and aid in the ongoing effort to close the Guantanamo prison facility. These transfer bring the total number of detainees at Guantanamo to 76.

Last week Republican lawmakers questioned [JURIST report] Obama administration officials about the transfer of detainees following the disappearance of a former detainee transferred to Uruguay. In April the DOD announced the transfer of nine detainees to Saudi Arabia and the transfer [JURIST report] of two detainees to Senegal. In February US President Obama delivered a plan to Congress to close Guantanamo Bay [JURIST report]. In November the US Senate passed [JURIST report] the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (NDAA), which prohibits Guantanamo detainees from being transferred into the US. Obama signed the bill into law, despite the fact that it could delay his plan to close the prison.