Aamer, who has four children, has permission to live indefinitely in Britain because his wife is British.
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Aamer’s release followed a “comprehensive review”, and received unanimous approval by the six departments and agencies comprising the Guantanamo Review Task Force, created under President Obama in 2009.
The last British prisoner in Guantanamo Bay has been released, it was confirmed today.
His U.S. lawyer Cori Crider said: “We are, of course, delighted that Shaker is on his way back to his home and his family here in the UK”. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Afghan villagers captured him in December 2001 and turned him over to the US military, which then transferred him to Guantanamo in February 2002 but never formally charged him with a crime.
“Members of Congress have treated Guantanamo like a political punching bag, keeping individuals like Shaker Aamer languishing in detention without charge, a few at death’s door during hunger strikes”.
He is now in line for compensation after a 2010 UK Government-agreed settlement of civil damages claims brought by British detainees held at Guantanamo.
Virginia Moffatt, from Ekklesia, told Premier’s News Hour: “He hasn’t seen his children grow up, and he said very potently recently that he hopes to be released for his daughters 18th birthday, and thank God he has been”.
Shaker Aamer, 48, had been a captive at the Cuba detention center since 2002, after USA officials accused him of leading a unit of Taliban fighters and working closely with Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Ladin.
Despite a formal request by then foreign secretary David Miliband, American authorities refused to allow him to go.
Aamer has contended that he was tortured by USA personnel in Afghanistan as British intelligence officials watched, and that his head was slammed against a wall so hard, it bounced.
In a letter to Mr Aamer’s U.S. lawyer earlier this month, Clive Stafford Smith, Mr Hammond said he “greatly welcomed” the decision to release his client.
It was claimed Mr Aamer’s release was delayed to appease United States politicians visiting the camp.
One former Guantanamo prisoner, Moazzam Begg, previously said that Mr Aamer can only accept the terms of the deal once he was released from prison.
“This is a good day for Shaker and his family”.
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The long campaign for justice for Mr Aamer has involved several dedicated campaign groups and networks of his supporters, as well as MPs who have taken up his cause as pressure mounted on the United Kingdom government to achieve a breakthrough in the case.
