[wvns] 3 UK Guantanamo Men Freed
Eid Mubarak! :-) This is FANTASTIC news! Thanks to everyone
who's been doing actions! Shaker is also released!!! They will
celebrate Eid with their families!
Guantanamo Bay three return to UK
By Christopher Hope, Home Affairs Correspondent, and Sally Peck
19/12/2007
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/19/nguan319.xml
Two former British residents held at Guantanamo Bay for several years
without charge were arrested shortly before they landed in the UK this
evening. The third was detained for questioning, their lawyer said.
Profiles: The Guantanamo four
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Jamil el-Banna, 45, Omar Deghayes, 38, and Abdennour Samuer, 34
arrived in Luton airport after being held by the United States for up
to six years at the Guantanamo detention centre in Cuba.
The men, viewed as "extremely dangerous" by the US, had agreed to
voluntary security restrictions as part of a deal to return them to
the UK, but only guarded details of the terms of the agreement were
being released.
From left: Jamil el-Banna, Omar Deghayes, Abdennour Sameur. Shaker
Abdur-Raheem Aamer, who was also released from Guantanamo, was
returned to his native Saudi Arabia
The Conservatives said the return of the three men raised "issues of
national security" and questioned how the Government would guarantee
the safety of the public after their return.
The Home Office said the "immigration status" of the three men would
be reviewed on their return. Their arrival in the UK did not mean that
the three men would be staying in Britain indefinitely, a spokesman said.
The former detainees' lawyer Clive Stafford Smith said that the three
men had agreed to unspecified "voluntary security arrangements",
requested by the British Government, after their return.
He denied that these restrictions were the same as the controversial
control orders, which have been used to place terrorist suspects under
virtual house arrest.
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Mr Stafford Smith declined to explain what the restrictions were. Of
the other seven British residents and nationals released from
Guantanamo, only one man - Bisher al Rawi - has been subject to the
same voluntary restrictions.
Mr al-Rawi, the only other British resident to be released from
Guantanamo, was also flown into Luton Airport, questioned for a short
time and then released.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command were
on tonight's flight as well as a uniformed police escort team who are
there at the request of the Foreign Office.
Agreement was reached with the US on December 10 that the three men
could go free and the logistical arrangements had then been made by
the Foreign Office, working with the Home Office.
Mr Stafford Smith insisted the men posed no threat to the public in
Britain. "You have nothing to worry about from our clients," he said.
He added: "We have had 10 of our clients come back to Britain and the
Americans said on each occasion they were dangerous people and on each
occasion our clients have caused no trouble."
They would be needing psychiatric treatment after their return for the
effects of being "victims of torture", he said.
Mr Stafford Smith added: "It is a wonderful day that these men will be
home."
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith
had "failed to answer any of the issues of national security posed by
the return of these men to the UK".
He added: "Whilst we welcome the US Government's efforts towards
closing Guantanamo, this Government's first duty is to protect the public.
"Does the Home Secretary agree with the US that these men are
'extremely dangerous'? If so how will the Government guarantee the
safety of the British public when they arrive in the UK?"
The families of the three men said they were delighted to have them
home in time for the Muslim festival of Eid, which finishes on Thursday.
Amani Deghayes, sister of Omar Deghayes, who was arrested in Pakistan
shortly after the fall of the Taliban, said: "I'm extremely relieved
that Omar's ordeal is finally coming to end after over five years of
suffering in Guantanamo. We're looking forward to spending the Eid as
family together.
"Our family has always said that Omar was totally innocent - one of
the hundreds of people taken to Guantanamo by the Americans for no
good reason."
Sabah el-Banna, wife of Jamil el-Banna who has never met his youngest
child, said: "Today is Eid and it feels like two Eids. I feel so
blessed that my Jamil will be home to celebrate with my children."
Meanwhile, Ms Smith was dramatically ordered to bring back to the UK a
teenage Iraqi asylum seeker who was taken from local authority care
and removed to Austria.
A High Court judge condemned as "arguably disgraceful" the way the
"vulnerable minor" was removed following a pre-dawn raid on the home
of his foster carer.
Mr Justice Collins, sitting in London, warned the Home Office
immigration authorities to bring the 15-year-old back to his carer
quickly, saying: "I hope it will be done by Christmas". He condemned
"the total lack of humanitarianism in this case".
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