Guantanamo, Cuba - The US Defense Department said Monday it had repatriated to Tunisia one of the remaining detainees from the notorious Guantanamo Bay military prison.

Ridah Bin Saleh al-Yazidi – who was never charged with a crime – was one of the first people sent to Guantanamo Bay, which was hastily opened in 2002 under president George W. Bush, according to the New York Times.

Imprisoned for 23 years, he was found eligible for transfer "by a rigorous interagency review process," a Defense Department statement said.

"In consultation with our partner in Tunisia, we completed the requirements for responsible transfer."

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There now remain only 26 people imprisoned in the facility, the statement said. At its peak, about 800 were incarcerated at the site in the eastern tip of Cuba.

The detention facility, run by the US Navy, was created after Bush declared a "war on terror" following the 9/11 attacks.

The conditions at Guantanamo Bay have prompted consistent outcry from rights groups, who accuse the US of committing torture and other human rights abuses inside its razor-wire perimeter.

UN experts have condemned it as a site of "unparalleled notoriety."

President Joe Biden pledged before his election to try to shut down Guantanamo, but it remains open. The Defense Department said 14 of the 26 who remain imprisoned are eligible for transfer.