Last British prisoner in Guantanamo in line for £1 million payout
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11398475/Last-British-prisoner-in-Guantanamo-in-line-for-1-million-payout.html
The US has previously claimed Shaker Aamer commanded a unit of Osama bin Laden’s fighters in Afghanistan who fought coalition forces
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Mr Aamer, inset, was cleared for transfer out of the base in June 2007 Photo: AFP/PA
The last British detainee to be released from Guantanamo is in line for a £1
million payment from the UK government – despite claims of his terror links
to al-Qaeda in official US documents.
Shaker Aamer, a father-of-four, has languished in Guantanamo for an
astonishing 13 years, seven years longer than any other British citizen or
resident. The campaign to ensure his release has been stepped up in recent
months with David Cameron raising his plight on a trip to the White House in
January. Barack Obama promised in return to “prioritise the case” and Aamer
has been cleared for release.
Aamer, a Saudi Arabian citizen, had been living in London prior to travelling
to Afghanistan with his family in 2001. He insists he went there to open a
school and run a charity while the US authorities have accused him of being
a senior al-Qaeda figure, who acted as a ‘special interpreter’ for Osama bin
Laden, was trained in the handling of explosives, and with had alleged links
to terror networks both in the UK and US.
His wife and four children - one of whom he has never met - are now back in
south London, awaiting his release.
When he is finally freed, Aamer will be entitled to a compensation payment of
about £1 million. Similar sums were given to other British detainees of
Guantanamo in a scheme agreed by the Government to head off what it believed
would be costly and embarrassing court cases that would drag UK intelligence
services into the dock.
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The settlements were announced by Kenneth Clarke, then Justice Secretary, in
November 2010. The details have been kept confidential but the payouts are
widely accepted to have amounted to £1 million for each detainee, including
UK residents as well as those with British citizenship. The Foreign Office
refused last week to discuss any possible payout to Aamer, but the legal
precedent set five years ago will make it impossible to resist any claim he
makes.
His lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, said: "He hasn't got any money and he can't do anything while he is locked up."
But opponents of the payments scheme are questioning whether Aamer should be given compensation. A 15-page US Department of Defense memorandum, leaked on the internet, details a string of allegations against him. Aamer’s lawyers have dismissed the claims as a ‘pack of lies’ but an independent think tank has suggested that giving Aamer a pay off will be of “great embarrassment”.
Robin Simcox, a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, a neoconservative think tank, and author of Islamist Terrorism: The British Connections, said: “The Government agreed a settlement with the Guantánamo detainees because it feared a lengthy litigation process could reveal secret intelligence and damage national security.
“Yet – as the Aamer case shows – the consequences of the Government choosing not to fight its corner and simply cutting a deal are hugely damaging. It should be a source of great embarrassment to the Government that Aamer will earn more for his time in Afghanistan than any British soldier ever did.”
The think tank, founded by a group of influential foreign policy analysts, has argued that the US dossier, dating back to November 2007, raised serious questions over Aamer’s insistence of innocence. Mr Simcox said: “The US government has clearly had a multitude of good reasons to detain Shaker Aamer. His connections to al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and other jihadists are well established, and the charities that Aamer said he worked for are known to be al-Qaeda support groups.
“Aamer’s formidable reputation among the other detainees at Guantanamo Bay shows that he remains highly influential. There is far more to Aamer than the benign image his supporters portray.”
Aamer has never faced any charges and has finally been cleared for release, although it is claimed the US authorities would prefer to send him back to Saudi Arabia, where he was born, rather than London.
Mr Stafford Smith, founder of the human rights charity Reprieve, said the claims made by the US were defamatory. Last week, he visited Aamer in detention and spoke of their frustration that his client had still to be freed despite the fact he was now listed for release.
Mr Stafford Smith said: “They have made more stuff up about Shaker as time has gone on. The Americans have no meaningful allegations against Shaker. That is best proven by the fact he has been cleared for release by two different groups, once by Bush and once by Obama.”
When he is finally freed, Aamer will be entitled to a compensation payment of about £1 million
He said Aamer had been singled out for continued detention because he had refused to obey the prison guards in Guantanamo. “The reason they hate him is he is oppositional and non compliant with all their rules,” he said, adding: “the allegations are totally false.
Shaker arrived in Afghanistan in late June 2001 and they [the US] say he is Osama bin Laden’s translator. He was only there two months and had never been in Afghanistan before. I have considered bringing a defamation case against the US based on that document.”
The Defense department document claims Aamer was close to a number of radicals in the UK before first visiting Afghanistan in 1998 - a claim Mr Stafford Smith says can be easily disproved. It goes on to allege he fought with bin Laden in the Tora Bora region as an al-Qaeda sub-commander following the coalition invasion.
Aamer has attracted widespread support in recent years. Celebrity backers of a campaign to secure his release include Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, TV presenter Janet Ellis and her singer daughter Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and the actress Juliet Stevenson.
The UK has already taken back 14 former Guantanamo residents but the release of Aamer remains on ice. Sources have suggested when it does happen, it will take place with no advanced warning, meaning he could be set free at any time in the coming weeks.
Last week, Lt. Col. Myles B. Caggins III, Defense Department spokesman for detainee policy, told The Telegraph: “The Defense Department will continue to work to identify responsible opportunities to resettle and repatriate detainees approved for transfer in accordance with the rigorous review process that was put in place in 2009 and in a manner that protects our nationals security and is consistent with our post-transfer humane treatment policies.
“Shaker Aamer is among the 54 detainees eligible for transfer. I do not have a timeline on when particular detainees will be transferred from Guantanamo. However, the Defense Department is committed to reducing the detainee population and to closing the detention facility responsibly.”
His lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, said: "He hasn't got any money and he can't do anything while he is locked up."
But opponents of the payments scheme are questioning whether Aamer should be given compensation. A 15-page US Department of Defense memorandum, leaked on the internet, details a string of allegations against him. Aamer’s lawyers have dismissed the claims as a ‘pack of lies’ but an independent think tank has suggested that giving Aamer a pay off will be of “great embarrassment”.
Robin Simcox, a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, a neoconservative think tank, and author of Islamist Terrorism: The British Connections, said: “The Government agreed a settlement with the Guantánamo detainees because it feared a lengthy litigation process could reveal secret intelligence and damage national security.
“Yet – as the Aamer case shows – the consequences of the Government choosing not to fight its corner and simply cutting a deal are hugely damaging. It should be a source of great embarrassment to the Government that Aamer will earn more for his time in Afghanistan than any British soldier ever did.”
The think tank, founded by a group of influential foreign policy analysts, has argued that the US dossier, dating back to November 2007, raised serious questions over Aamer’s insistence of innocence. Mr Simcox said: “The US government has clearly had a multitude of good reasons to detain Shaker Aamer. His connections to al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and other jihadists are well established, and the charities that Aamer said he worked for are known to be al-Qaeda support groups.
“Aamer’s formidable reputation among the other detainees at Guantanamo Bay shows that he remains highly influential. There is far more to Aamer than the benign image his supporters portray.”
Aamer has never faced any charges and has finally been cleared for release, although it is claimed the US authorities would prefer to send him back to Saudi Arabia, where he was born, rather than London.
Mr Stafford Smith, founder of the human rights charity Reprieve, said the claims made by the US were defamatory. Last week, he visited Aamer in detention and spoke of their frustration that his client had still to be freed despite the fact he was now listed for release.
Mr Stafford Smith said: “They have made more stuff up about Shaker as time has gone on. The Americans have no meaningful allegations against Shaker. That is best proven by the fact he has been cleared for release by two different groups, once by Bush and once by Obama.”
When he is finally freed, Aamer will be entitled to a compensation payment of about £1 million
He said Aamer had been singled out for continued detention because he had refused to obey the prison guards in Guantanamo. “The reason they hate him is he is oppositional and non compliant with all their rules,” he said, adding: “the allegations are totally false.
Shaker arrived in Afghanistan in late June 2001 and they [the US] say he is Osama bin Laden’s translator. He was only there two months and had never been in Afghanistan before. I have considered bringing a defamation case against the US based on that document.”
The Defense department document claims Aamer was close to a number of radicals in the UK before first visiting Afghanistan in 1998 - a claim Mr Stafford Smith says can be easily disproved. It goes on to allege he fought with bin Laden in the Tora Bora region as an al-Qaeda sub-commander following the coalition invasion.
Aamer has attracted widespread support in recent years. Celebrity backers of a campaign to secure his release include Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, TV presenter Janet Ellis and her singer daughter Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and the actress Juliet Stevenson.
The UK has already taken back 14 former Guantanamo residents but the release of Aamer remains on ice. Sources have suggested when it does happen, it will take place with no advanced warning, meaning he could be set free at any time in the coming weeks.
Last week, Lt. Col. Myles B. Caggins III, Defense Department spokesman for detainee policy, told The Telegraph: “The Defense Department will continue to work to identify responsible opportunities to resettle and repatriate detainees approved for transfer in accordance with the rigorous review process that was put in place in 2009 and in a manner that protects our nationals security and is consistent with our post-transfer humane treatment policies.
“Shaker Aamer is among the 54 detainees eligible for transfer. I do not have a timeline on when particular detainees will be transferred from Guantanamo. However, the Defense Department is committed to reducing the detainee population and to closing the detention facility responsibly.”
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