Britain’s last Guantánamo inmate to be freed
SHAKER AAMER, Britain’s last detainee in Guantánamo Bay, is to be released and will be in line for £1 million in compensation.
Mr Aamer, 46, will be freed from the US detention camp within the next month after being held in Cuba without charge for 13 years.
The US authorities had accused the father of four of being a close associate of Osama bin Laden and a recruiter and financier for al-Qaeda, but he was never charged. Mr Aamer, a Saudi national who was resident in the UK, is expected to receive a large compensation package on his return after claiming Britain knew or was complicit in his illtreatment in Cuba.
In 2010, the British government announced it was paying compensation to 16 men who were detained at Guantánamo to settle damages claims that it knew or was complicit in mistreatment there. It is believed many, who had already been released, re- ceived about £1 million each, and it is understood that Mr Aamer was included in that deal. His return to the UK will also pose a major headache for MI5 and the intelligence agencies who will be tasked with monitoring him.
The level of any surveillance will be severely hampered by the fact that there will be no recent evidence of alleged suspicious activity on which to justify close monitoring.
US government files previously leaked online revealed the Americans suspected Mr Aamer of being a mem- ber of al-Qaeda in Europe and close to bin Laden and several other senior fanatics. He was also accused of being a “recruiter, financier and facilitator with a history of participating in jihadist combat”.
Mr Aamer was originally detained in Afghanistan in 2001 and transferred to Guantánamo Bay the following year.
But the US never brought charges and he was cleared for release both in 2007 and 2009. Mr Aamer had always claimed he was in Afghanistan to carry out charitable work. A Government spokesman said: “As the US has said, we have one of the most robust and effective systems in the world to deal with suspected terrorists and those suspected of engaging in terrorist-related activity and we will continue to do all we can to protect people in Britain and around the world from the threat of terrorism.”
Several campaigns had called for the release of Mr Aamer, and the UK government has repeatedly raised his case with America, including during a meeting between David Cameron and Barack Obama in January. Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, said it was a “hugely important development” in what had been a “clear injustice”. John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, said he hoped Mr Aamer would be able to settle back in to “civil society”, although he added the experience would be “quite traumatic”.
David Davis, a Conservative MP, said: “This is brilliant news. It is great for Shaker’s family, good for justice, and will help to repair the reputation of the United States.”