Last British Guantanamo prisoner freed after 14 years

In 2001, Shaker Aamer was detained in Afghanistan after the US alleged that he had led a unit of Taliban fighters and had met Osama 

London: The US has released a London-based Saudi national, the last British resident to be incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay, after nearly 14 years in detention at the infamous military prison in Cuba without being tried for any terror-related offence.

Shaker Aamer returned to the UK yesterday. Pic/AFP

Shaker Aamer was held at Guantanamo after the US accused him of acting as a recruiter, financier and fighter for Al-Qaeda, as well as being a close associate of Osama Bin Laden, but he has never been charged or put on trial.

The 46-year-old was detained in Afghanistan in 2001 after US authorities alleged that he had led a unit of Taliban fighters and had met Osama. But Aamer, who was twice cleared for release from the camp in 2007 and 2009, denied the allegations and maintained that he was in Afghanistan with his family doing charity work.

UK foreign secretary Philip Hammond said Aamer had left the military base and returned to the UK yesterday. The father of four children, Aamer has permission to live in the UK because his wife is British.

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