‘Last UK inmate at Gitmo faces death’

The lawyer of the last British prisoner still kept at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba has said he might die soon, while he has never been charged with any offence and has been clear for release since 2007.

After visiting Shaker Aamer, the last British prisoner in Guantanamo, his lawyer Clive Stafford Smith said he is “falling apart at the seams” while he has been held for ten years with no charge.

“This is a guy who has spent 10 years in US custody and been abused as horribly as anyone in Guantanamo. It would take an enormous toll on anyone. He is a human being who is gradually falling apart at the seams,” said Stafford Smith.

Shaker Aamer was arrested in 2001 and was taken to the Guantanamo prison on 14 February 2002. After being subjected to years of torture and abuse in the US custody, Aamer was cleared for release in 2007 under the Bush administration and again in 2009 under the Obama administration.

Nevertheless, Aamer has never been released as the Independent disclosed the role of the British government in his being held in detention.

“The UK Government has spent £274,345 fighting Mr Aamer in court, including preventing his lawyers viewing evidence that may prove his innocence. The UK “misjudged” the US government’s stance on Mr Aamer and gave false hope to his family,” revealed the newspaper.

Furthermore, Aamer’s American lawyer, David Remes, revealed that the conditions in which Aamer has been held constitute a “violation of Geneva Conventions.”