Briton held without trial in Guantanamo Bay for 13 years ‘to be freed in weeks’
BRITAIN’S last Guantanamo Bay detainee Shaker Aamer is expected to be freed as early as June, according to US government sources.
In a development which will hearten his family, officials in Washington said the 48-year-old is likely to be released in the summer after 13 years in captivity without charge or trial.
It came as the man appointed by President Barack Obama to speed up the closure of the notorious prison camp said there was ‘no sound reason’ for keeping the terror suspect locked up any longer.
Campaigners welcomed moves to end the scandal of Saudi-born Mr Aamer continuing to languish in the naval base in Cuba but said his detention was an ‘affront to civilised values’.
Mr Aamer, who lived in South London with his wife and children, is the longestserving UK resident in Guantanamo and has twice been cleared for release, by the Bush administration in 2007, and by Barack Obama in 2009.
His imprisonment is embarrassing for David Cameron, who said Mr Obama had vowed to prioritise the detainee’s release after White House talks in January.
But sources in the White House said the father-of-four was expected to be one of 11 captives transferred within weeks.
Cliff Sloan, who was the State Department’s envoy dealing with prisoner transfers until last year, said: ‘They should be moved just as promptly as possible. We are talking about people who have been at Guantanamo for 12 or 13 years... they should not be having to spend a day longer than necessary in Guantanamo.’
He said there was no sound reason for delay.
Officials said the transfer will take place after a 30-day notice period to Congress, following a sign- off from US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.
Kat Craig, legal director of Reprieve, which has represented Mr Aamer, said: ‘He continues to be the victim of the most extraordinary injustice, as well as daily abuses that are an affront to civilised values.
‘Any moves to return Shaker to his British wife and children cannot come soon enough, and should be welcomed.’
Karla McLaren, of Amnesty International UK, said: ‘ These reports are obviously encouraging but we’ve been here before.
‘There have been so many false dawns over the release of Shaker that we won’t believe it until a plane bringing him back actually touches down here in Britain.
‘Guantanamo has always been a complete travesty of justice and whoever is in government must ensure... Shaker is returned to his family as soon as possible if he’s not going to be charged.’
Saudi-born Mr Aamer moved to London almost 20 years ago and married, securing leave to remain in Britain. In 2001 he was detained in Kabul while doing peaceful voluntary work for an Islamic charity, his supporters say. He was handed to the US military for money and tortured at a secret ‘black site’ prison.
US i ntelligence claimed he financed Al Qaeda and was a key aide of Osama Bin Laden, an accusation that he vehemently denied. Despite being cleared for release, US officials are determined that he should be sent to Saudi Arabia, even though there are serious concerns he will face torture there.
Mr Aamer’s lawyers allege the intention is to silence their client, who claims to have wit- nessed abuse in the presence of a British security official.
But the Foreign Office welcomed President Obama’s commitment to prioritise Mr Aamer’s case, saying: ‘We will continue to work with the US to secure his release as a matter of urgency.’
Comment – Page 18
THE TORTURE
FILES