Last British Guantanamo detainee, Shaker Aamer, released, headed to London
On Friday, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed that the U.S. has released Shaker Aamer, 46, from Guantanamo Bay after 13 years, meaning the controversial U.S. prison camp no longer holds any British residents. Aamer, a Saudi national, was picked up in Afghanistan in 2001 and has been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2002, though he was never charged with a crime and has been cleared for release since 2007 by both President Obama and his predecessor, George W. Bush. He will be allowed to stay indefinitely in the U.K. since his wife is British.
Aamer, who has four children, has become something of a cause célèbre in the U.K., with British lawmakers lobbying the U.S. government for his release and Prime Minister David Cameron broaching the subject with Obama last June. "We hope he won't be detained by the British authorities on his return and gets the psychological and medical care that he needs to be able to resume his life with his family in London," said Andy Worthington, co-director of the We Stand With Shaker campaign.
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