The last British resident detained in Guantanamo Bay flew back to London on Friday following his release after over 13 years at the top-security US military jail in Cuba.
Shaker Aamer arrived at Biggin Hill airport south of London on a direct flight from Guantanamo aboard a Gulfstream jet. The plane taxied into a hangar before an ambulance pulled up outside a terminal building, pulling away 20 minutes later with its sirens flashing.
The 46-year-old father of four thanked supporters "so strongly devoted to the truth" for helping him through the ordeal.
"If I was the fire to be lit to tell the truth, it was the people who protected the fire from the wind," he said in a statement issued through his lawyers.
"Without knowing of their fight I might have given up more than once... and without their devotion to justice I would not be here in Britain now."
Lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, who spent years campaigning for Aamer's release, told AFP that the Saudi national's next step was medical tests.
"First it's a clinic to get a complete medical checkup which he really needs and that could take a day or two and then it's going to be reconnecting with his family," he said.
"I think he'll want to hear the word 'Daddy' instead of number 239," referring to Aamer's prisoner number at Guantanamo.
The United States had accused Aamer of acting as a recruiter, financier and fighter for Al-Qaeda, as well as being a close associate of Osama Bin Laden, but never charged him.
Twice cleared for release from Guantanamo in 2007 and 2009, he has always denied the allegations and said he was in Afghanistan working for a charity when he was captured by bounty hunters.
A spokeswoman for Prime Minister David Cameron, who had pressed US President Barack Obama for his release, said there were no plans for the British authorities to detain him or charge him.
"As soon as he is returned to the UK he is no longer in detention. He is free to be reunited with his family," she added.
Aamer's family are considering whether to seek compensation over his years behind bars.
Aamer's father-in-law Saeed Siddique called it "a delightful day for all of us" and a "miracle".
"Everybody is looking forward to seeing him, especially after all this time. But it won't be necessarily today," he told the BBC.
- Struggle to close Guantanamo -
Aamer was born in Saudi Arabia in December 1968 and lived in the US before settling in Britain, where he married a British woman and, in 1996, became a resident.
In 2001, he took his family to Afghanistan, but sent them to Pakistan after the September 11 attacks. He said he was about to join them when he was detained.
He was transferred to Guantanamo Bay in 2002, where he said he faced mistreatment, leading him to become an advocate for prisoners' rights and an organiser of hunger strikes.
He fasted even after his release was announced last month in protest in protest at alleged mistreatment.
Obama signed an order six years ago to close the top-security facility, which was opened to hold terror suspects following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US.
But he has struggled to do so in the face of opposition in Congress and with other countries reluctant to take in one-time terror suspects.
Following the release of Mauritanian detainee Ahmed Ould Abdel Aziz from Guantanamo this week, the US defence ministry said there were 113 detainees left.
Aamer is thought to be suffering from a string of health issues including post-traumatic stress disorder.
Clinical psychologist Professor Ian Robbins, who has worked with six former Guantanamo detainees, said they usually faced a struggle to readjust to ordinary life.
"The common things were high levels of anxiety at the beginning, a level of distrust of the world in general," he said.
Other symptoms could include mood swings, disturbed sleep and repeated flashbacks to captivity, he added.
The last British resident detained in Guantanamo Bay flew back to London on Friday following his release after over 13 years at the top-security US military jail in Cuba.
Shaker Aamer arrived at Biggin Hill airport south of London on a direct flight from Guantanamo aboard a Gulfstream jet. The plane taxied into a hangar before an ambulance pulled up outside a terminal building, pulling away 20 minutes later with its sirens flashing.
The 46-year-old father of four thanked supporters “so strongly devoted to the truth” for helping him through the ordeal.
“If I was the fire to be lit to tell the truth, it was the people who protected the fire from the wind,” he said in a statement issued through his lawyers.
“Without knowing of their fight I might have given up more than once… and without their devotion to justice I would not be here in Britain now.”
Lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, who spent years campaigning for Aamer’s release, told AFP that the Saudi national’s next step was medical tests.
“First it’s a clinic to get a complete medical checkup which he really needs and that could take a day or two and then it’s going to be reconnecting with his family,” he said.
“I think he’ll want to hear the word ‘Daddy’ instead of number 239,” referring to Aamer’s prisoner number at Guantanamo.
The United States had accused Aamer of acting as a recruiter, financier and fighter for Al-Qaeda, as well as being a close associate of Osama Bin Laden, but never charged him.
Twice cleared for release from Guantanamo in 2007 and 2009, he has always denied the allegations and said he was in Afghanistan working for a charity when he was captured by bounty hunters.
A spokeswoman for Prime Minister David Cameron, who had pressed US President Barack Obama for his release, said there were no plans for the British authorities to detain him or charge him.
“As soon as he is returned to the UK he is no longer in detention. He is free to be reunited with his family,” she added.
Aamer’s family are considering whether to seek compensation over his years behind bars.
Aamer’s father-in-law Saeed Siddique called it “a delightful day for all of us” and a “miracle”.
“Everybody is looking forward to seeing him, especially after all this time. But it won’t be necessarily today,” he told the BBC.
– Struggle to close Guantanamo –
Aamer was born in Saudi Arabia in December 1968 and lived in the US before settling in Britain, where he married a British woman and, in 1996, became a resident.
In 2001, he took his family to Afghanistan, but sent them to Pakistan after the September 11 attacks. He said he was about to join them when he was detained.
He was transferred to Guantanamo Bay in 2002, where he said he faced mistreatment, leading him to become an advocate for prisoners’ rights and an organiser of hunger strikes.
He fasted even after his release was announced last month in protest in protest at alleged mistreatment.
Obama signed an order six years ago to close the top-security facility, which was opened to hold terror suspects following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US.
But he has struggled to do so in the face of opposition in Congress and with other countries reluctant to take in one-time terror suspects.
Following the release of Mauritanian detainee Ahmed Ould Abdel Aziz from Guantanamo this week, the US defence ministry said there were 113 detainees left.
Aamer is thought to be suffering from a string of health issues including post-traumatic stress disorder.
Clinical psychologist Professor Ian Robbins, who has worked with six former Guantanamo detainees, said they usually faced a struggle to readjust to ordinary life.
“The common things were high levels of anxiety at the beginning, a level of distrust of the world in general,” he said.
Other symptoms could include mood swings, disturbed sleep and repeated flashbacks to captivity, he added.
