UK's final Guantanamo Bay detainee to be released

LONDON

The last remaining British detainee at Guantanamo Bay is set to be released, the U.K. government said Friday.

Shaker Aamer, a British resident originally from Saudi Arabia, has been held at the U.S. detention camp in Cuba for the last 13 years. He has never been charged or put on trial.

The U.S. is understood to have notified authorities in the U.K. that Aamer will be returned to Britain.

A U.K. government spokesman said: “The government has regularly raised Mr. Aamer's case with the U.S. authorities and we support President [Barack] Obama's commitment to closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.

“In terms of next steps, we understand that the U.S. government has notified Congress of this decision and once that notice period has been concluded, Mr. Aamer will be returned to the UK.”

Aamer was detained in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2001, where he said he was carrying out charity work. The U.S. claimed he had led Taliban fighters and had met former al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.

LONDON

The last remaining British detainee at Guantanamo Bay is set to be released, the U.K. government said Friday.

Shaker Aamer, a British resident originally from Saudi Arabia, has been held at the U.S. detention camp in Cuba for the last 13 years. He has never been charged or put on trial.

The U.S. is understood to have notified authorities in the U.K. that Aamer will be returned to Britain.

“In terms of next steps, we understand that the U.S. government has notified Congress of this decision and once that notice period has been concluded, Mr. Aamer will be returned to the UK.”

Aamer was detained in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2001, where he said he was carrying out charity work. The U.S. claimed he had led Taliban fighters and had met former al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.