Release of Saudi man after nearly 14 years in US naval prison highlights the plight of 114 other detainees left behind.
Aamer, originally from Saudi Arabia, has been detained at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for more than 13 years without charge.
Shaker Aamer, the last British resident held in the US prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba is to be released, both the US Department of Defence and the UK government have confirmed.
A US official told Al Jazeera on Friday: “The secretary of defence has approved the transfer of Guantanamo detainee Aamer, following a thorough review of his case and taking into consideration the robust security assurances that will be provided by the British government, one of our strongest allies who has supported our efforts to close the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay.”
The defence department has to notify Congress of its intent to transfer Aamer, which means that he has to wait for 30 days from the notification before he can be transferred.
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The UK, under both Labour and Tory governments, has called for Aamer to be allowed to return home since 2007.
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Aamer’s “case encapsulates everything wrong with the War on Terror; detention without charge or trial, torture with the complicity of the UK government, crude and dehumanising treatment, destruction of a young family, and lack of accountability for war crimes committed against this man and those held with him – these are key features of Shaker case,” said Moazzam Begg, CAGE Outreach director and former detainee of Guantanamo Bay and Bagram prisons, in a press release.
“His greatest test will be in how he will once again be a father, husband and a member of society. What he endured is beyond comprehension for most people in the UK. There is no escaping the story of Shaker Aamer and those who instigated his mistreatment. This will be a black page in the history of the UK and US,” Begg said.
Nine British citizens have been held at Guantanamo Bay. They were transferred in two groups – the first on March 9, 2004, and the second on January 25, 2005.
Another five prisoners from Guantanamo were sent to the UK, the most recent being Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian who was transferred on February 23, 2009. Mohamed claimed that the MI5 colluded in his torture.
– With reporting from Rosalind Jordan and Jenifer Fenton