A Saudi citizen and British resident who was the subject of an international campaign was freed Friday from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told the BBC.
The Pentagon confirmed the release of Shaker Aamer after he arrived in London on a private jet. British officials told the BBC there were “no plans” to further detain him.
His release leaves 112 detainees at the military prison, which President Obama has vowed to close before he leaves office. Republican lawmakers are seeking to block him from doing that, saying the administration does not have a clear plan to ensure freed detainees don’t return to terrorism.
Aamer was one of the more controversial cases. The 46-year-old says he was in Afghanistan with his family doing charity work when he was captured by Afghan bounty hunters in December 2001 and sold to the United States. He has accused U.S. officials of torturing him and sued the British government seeking to discover what it knew about his treatment.
Though his supporters claim he was cleared for release by the Bush administration eight years ago, a case file prepared in November 2007 classified him as a high risk, noting that he was captured in Jalalabad after fighting with al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the group’s last Afghan stronghold of Tora Bora.
“Detainee is a member of al Qaeda tied to the European support network. Detainee is a close associate of Osama bin Laden and has connections to several other senior extremist members. Detainee has traveled internationally on false documents and is associated with al Qaeda terrorist cells in the US. Detainee is a reported recruiter, financier and facilitator with a history of participating in jihadist combat,” the file said.
