• Live
    • Audio Only
  • google plus
  • facebook
  • twitter
News > U.S.

After 13 Years Without Trial, Guantanamo Prisoner to Be Freed

  • Shaker Aamer pictured before his arrest in 2002 with his children.

    Shaker Aamer pictured before his arrest in 2002 with his children. | Photo: AFP

Published 26 September 2015
Opinion

UK resident Shaker Aamer is set to be released from Guantanamo within 30 days after spending 13 years in captivity without trial or formal charges.

British resident Shaker Aamer has been cleared for release by the United States Defense Department after being held in Guantanamo Bay prison for the past 13 years without trial or charges.

Aamer had been cleared for release twice since 2007 by former president George W. Bush and President Barack Obama, but the Defense Department, which has the final say on releasing prisoners, has delayed his and others' release for years using thorough reviews.

The Saudi national, who has indefinite residence in the United Kingdom, will be free in 30 days after Obama’s administration informed the U.S. congress that it intended to release him back to the UK, where Aamer has a wife and four children.

A British government spokesperson said Friday, "The government has regularly raised Mr Aamer's case with the U.S. authorities and we support President Obama's commitment to closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.”

RELATED: Accountability: Light and Shadows

However, Aamer has repeatedly said he suffered ill-treatment, with alleged British complicity. The U.S. military had claimed he had significant ties to al-Qaida and its late leader Osama bin Laden. But Aamer and his lawyers say he is innocent and was in Afghanistan with his family doing charity work.

His daughter Johina, 17, who last saw her father when she was four years old, thanked everyone who supported her father's release and was looking forward to meeting him after years of unjust imprisonment.

Since Bush authorized its use for the imprisonment of apparently suspected terrorists, the prison has come under repeated criticism for harsh and illegal treatment of prisoners held there. The U.S. military and other agencies operate under different regulations outside the U.S. territories, seeing them use torture, holding prisoners without trial and other illegal practices.

One of his most notable presidential campaign promises was closing Guantanamo, however, so far Obama has failed to follow through on his pledge. But, the number of prisoners has halved since he came to power in 2008.

The closure of the prison has also come under attention since the U.S. and Cuba restored diplomatic relation after years of an unjust U.S. sponsored international blockade. Cuban leaders have demanded that the U.S. lift its blockade and return the occupied territory of Guantanamo.

RELATED: 13 Years of Guantanamo Prison: US Protestors Demand Closure

Comment
0
Comments
Post with no comments.