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| After Guantánamo: what became of the Britons freed from the US camp? | After Guantánamo: what became of the Britons freed from the US camp? |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Jamal al-Harith, the Manchester-born jihadi who blew himself up in Iraq after joining Islamic State, was one of at least 17 British citizens and residents known to have been imprisoned in the US Guantánamo camps in Cuba. | Jamal al-Harith, the Manchester-born jihadi who blew himself up in Iraq after joining Islamic State, was one of at least 17 British citizens and residents known to have been imprisoned in the US Guantánamo camps in Cuba. |
| All were interviewed by the British authorities on their return. In 2010 the government agreed to pay them millions of pounds in compensation. | All were interviewed by the British authorities on their return. In 2010 the government agreed to pay them millions of pounds in compensation. |
| The ‘Tipton three’ | The ‘Tipton three’ |
| Rhuhel Ahmed, Asif Iqbal and Shafiq Rasul were detained in Afghanistan in 2001 by a local warlord. The men, from Tipton in the West Midlands, were handed over to US forces before being sent to Guantánamo Bay. They were released from Guantánamo in 2004, together with Harith, and repatriated to the UK without charge. | Rhuhel Ahmed, Asif Iqbal and Shafiq Rasul were detained in Afghanistan in 2001 by a local warlord. The men, from Tipton in the West Midlands, were handed over to US forces before being sent to Guantánamo Bay. They were released from Guantánamo in 2004, together with Harith, and repatriated to the UK without charge. |
| Tarek Dergoul | Tarek Dergoul |
| A UK citizen of Moroccan origin, Dergoul was also released back to Britain in 2004 without charge, alongside Harith and the Tipton three. | A UK citizen of Moroccan origin, Dergoul was also released back to Britain in 2004 without charge, alongside Harith and the Tipton three. |
| Last year the Sunday Times reported that Dergoul went to meet a Syrian terror suspect in the summer of 2011 in Portugal with Mohammed Emwazi, the notorious militant known as Jihadi John who was killed in a US drone strike in 2015. He told the paper that MI5 was aware of his relationship with Emwazi. | Last year the Sunday Times reported that Dergoul went to meet a Syrian terror suspect in the summer of 2011 in Portugal with Mohammed Emwazi, the notorious militant known as Jihadi John who was killed in a US drone strike in 2015. He told the paper that MI5 was aware of his relationship with Emwazi. |
| The Syrian they met in Portugal could not be named for legal reasons, but was reported also to have been detained in Guantánamo Bay. Speaking from his west London home, Dergoul told the Sunday Times: “We were in prison together. Of course I know this guy.” | The Syrian they met in Portugal could not be named for legal reasons, but was reported also to have been detained in Guantánamo Bay. Speaking from his west London home, Dergoul told the Sunday Times: “We were in prison together. Of course I know this guy.” |
| Dergoul was picked up in Afghanistan in 2001 by local warlords who “sold” him to the US, he said. He became the first former captive to sue the UK government when he launched an action in 2007 over tactics used to gather intelligence. | Dergoul was picked up in Afghanistan in 2001 by local warlords who “sold” him to the US, he said. He became the first former captive to sue the UK government when he launched an action in 2007 over tactics used to gather intelligence. |
| Ahmed Errachidi | Ahmed Errachidi |
| A Moroccan chef who spent much of his adult life in London, Errachidi was arrested in Pakistan and handed over to US authorities. After more than five years in Guantánamo, much of it in solitary confinement, he was released in 2007. He opened a restaurant in Morocco, where he now lives with his family, and wrote a book about his experiences. | A Moroccan chef who spent much of his adult life in London, Errachidi was arrested in Pakistan and handed over to US authorities. After more than five years in Guantánamo, much of it in solitary confinement, he was released in 2007. He opened a restaurant in Morocco, where he now lives with his family, and wrote a book about his experiences. |
| Last year, he told the Guardian he was surprised to hear that Harith had gone to join Isis. But, he added: “In Guantánamo you find a lot of people who had nothing to do with anything the British or the Americans were claiming. They were the scapegoats. What they are going to do after Guantánamo, I can’t speak for them.” | Last year, he told the Guardian he was surprised to hear that Harith had gone to join Isis. But, he added: “In Guantánamo you find a lot of people who had nothing to do with anything the British or the Americans were claiming. They were the scapegoats. What they are going to do after Guantánamo, I can’t speak for them.” |
| Omar Deghayes | Omar Deghayes |
| A Libyan-born British resident who was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 and imprisoned in Guantánamo, Deghayes lost the sight in one eye due to the treatment by guards before being released in 2007. | A Libyan-born British resident who was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 and imprisoned in Guantánamo, Deghayes lost the sight in one eye due to the treatment by guards before being released in 2007. |
| He is the uncle of Amer Deghayes, from Saltdean, East Sussex, who travelled to Syria in 2013 to join the al-Qaida-linked rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra. Omar’s other nephews Jaffar, 17, and Abdullah, 18, were both killed fighting in Syria. | He is the uncle of Amer Deghayes, from Saltdean, East Sussex, who travelled to Syria in 2013 to join the al-Qaida-linked rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra. Omar’s other nephews Jaffar, 17, and Abdullah, 18, were both killed fighting in Syria. |
| Amer cited Omar’s mistreatment in prison as having first planted doubts in his mind about life as a Muslim in the west. “The war on terror was obviously a war on Muslims, the Islamic way of life,” Amer told the Guardian last year. | Amer cited Omar’s mistreatment in prison as having first planted doubts in his mind about life as a Muslim in the west. “The war on terror was obviously a war on Muslims, the Islamic way of life,” Amer told the Guardian last year. |
| In 2012, Omar told the Brighton Argus, which had campaigned for his release, that he enjoyed living in Brighton. | |
| Moazzam Begg | Moazzam Begg |
| A British citizen of Pakistani descent who was detained in Pakistan in 2002 as a suspected member of al-Qaida and sent to Guantánamo for three years. | |
| Released in 2005, he continued to advocate for detainees in Guantánamo through the organisation CagePrisoners. In October 2014, he walked free from prison in the UK after seven terrorism-related charges connected to the conflict in Syria were dropped. | |
| Last month he wrote an article in Guardian condemning Donald Trump’s insistence that “torture works”. | |
| Binyam Mohamed | Binyam Mohamed |
| A UK resident incarcerated in Guantánamo Bay for more than four years, Mohamed arrived back in the UK in February 2009. He was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 and secretly flown by the CIA to Morocco as part of an extraordinary rendition programme. He was subsequently flown to Afghanistan and then to Cuba. | |
| He is understood to be living in the south of England and has changed his appearance. In 2010 he failed in a legal attempt to prevent the Daily Mail reporting that he had been granted permanent residency in the UK. | |
| Feroz Abbasi | Feroz Abbasi |
| A former computers student from Croydon, Abbasi was 24 when he became the first British national to be detained in Guantánamo in January 2002 after being held in Afghanistan. Abbasi was released in January 2005. The BBC reported that the government told him and another released Briton, Martin Mubenga, that they would not be allowed to have passports. | |
| He was linked to the preacher Abu Hamza in court papers released before the latter’s trial in New York in 2014. | He was linked to the preacher Abu Hamza in court papers released before the latter’s trial in New York in 2014. |
| Bisher al-Rawi | Bisher al-Rawi |
| An Iraqi citizen and long-term British resident, Rawi was detained in the Gambia in November 2002 and later secretly flown by the CIA to Afghanistan. He joined a legal action in 2007 against the private US airline that transported him to Kabul. | An Iraqi citizen and long-term British resident, Rawi was detained in the Gambia in November 2002 and later secretly flown by the CIA to Afghanistan. He joined a legal action in 2007 against the private US airline that transported him to Kabul. |
| “I hope the lessons learned I will always have and I hope my ‘old me’ a big part of that, I can have back … but it takes a lot longer than I had thought,” he said in an interview with the Witness to Guantánamo project recently. “It has been over four years and I am just now feeling that I can sense that I am getting normal. Before, I could sense I am not normal.” | “I hope the lessons learned I will always have and I hope my ‘old me’ a big part of that, I can have back … but it takes a lot longer than I had thought,” he said in an interview with the Witness to Guantánamo project recently. “It has been over four years and I am just now feeling that I can sense that I am getting normal. Before, I could sense I am not normal.” |
| Richard Dean Belmar | Richard Dean Belmar |
| Londoner Belmar was detained by Pakistani officials in 2002 and then moved to Guantánamo. He was released on 25 January 2005. In a subsequent interview with the Observer he spoke of being beaten and humiliated in US custody and retracted statements made under interrogation, such as that he had listened to Osama bin Laden making a speech. | Londoner Belmar was detained by Pakistani officials in 2002 and then moved to Guantánamo. He was released on 25 January 2005. In a subsequent interview with the Observer he spoke of being beaten and humiliated in US custody and retracted statements made under interrogation, such as that he had listened to Osama bin Laden making a speech. |
| Martin Mubenga | Martin Mubenga |
| The holder of dual citizenship with Britain and Zambia, Mubenga was held by the latter’s officials in 2002 and was moved to Guantánamo before being released in January 2005. He claimed to have been interrogated by a British man who said he was an MI6 official. On his return, he spoke to the Observer about his experiences and plans to sue the UK government. Like Abbasi, he was informed that he would not be issued with a UK passport. | The holder of dual citizenship with Britain and Zambia, Mubenga was held by the latter’s officials in 2002 and was moved to Guantánamo before being released in January 2005. He claimed to have been interrogated by a British man who said he was an MI6 official. On his return, he spoke to the Observer about his experiences and plans to sue the UK government. Like Abbasi, he was informed that he would not be issued with a UK passport. |
| Ahmed Belbacha | Ahmed Belbacha |
| An Algerian who moved to the UK and applied for asylum in 2003, Belbacha was granted exceptional leave to remain but had already been in Guantánamo for more than a year by that point, having been arrested in Pakistan during the final days of the Taliban regime. | An Algerian who moved to the UK and applied for asylum in 2003, Belbacha was granted exceptional leave to remain but had already been in Guantánamo for more than a year by that point, having been arrested in Pakistan during the final days of the Taliban regime. |
| He was first cleared for release in 2007 but had to wait until 2014 before being transferred to the custody of the government in his homeland Algeria. | He was first cleared for release in 2007 but had to wait until 2014 before being transferred to the custody of the government in his homeland Algeria. |
| Abdenour Sameur | Abdenour Sameur |
| An Algerian army deserter who fled to Britain in 1999 after being ordered to fight against Islamists, Sameur was granted leave to remain in the UK. Sameur told US interrogators that a man he met at Finsbury Park mosque during the summer of 2001 gave him the money to travel to Afghanistan. | An Algerian army deserter who fled to Britain in 1999 after being ordered to fight against Islamists, Sameur was granted leave to remain in the UK. Sameur told US interrogators that a man he met at Finsbury Park mosque during the summer of 2001 gave him the money to travel to Afghanistan. |
| He was arrested in 2002 in the mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan and shot in the leg attempting to escape. The Pakistani military handed handed him over to the US. He claims that he fled Jalalabad for the mountains of Tora Bora during the post-9/11 conflict, but maintains that he was attempting to escape the fighting, not take part in it. | He was arrested in 2002 in the mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan and shot in the leg attempting to escape. The Pakistani military handed handed him over to the US. He claims that he fled Jalalabad for the mountains of Tora Bora during the post-9/11 conflict, but maintains that he was attempting to escape the fighting, not take part in it. |
| He was released from Guantánamo in December 2007 along with Deghayes and Jamil el-Banna. | |
| Jamil el-Banna | Jamil el-Banna |
| A Jordanian who was granted refugee status in the UK and settled in London in the late 1990s, the father of five was detained in the Gambia with his friend Bisher al-Rawi and taken first to Afghanistan and then Guantánamo. | |
| Shaker Aamer | Shaker Aamer |
| Aamer was released in October 2015 after 14 years of incarceration in Guantánamo Bay. He was captured by what were said to be bounty hunters from the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance in Afghanistan and handed over to US forces in December 2001. Two months later, he was rendered to Guantánamo. | Aamer was released in October 2015 after 14 years of incarceration in Guantánamo Bay. He was captured by what were said to be bounty hunters from the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance in Afghanistan and handed over to US forces in December 2001. Two months later, he was rendered to Guantánamo. |
| He was never tried for any offence. Aamer was released after arriving in Britain and being reunited with his British wife, Zin Siddique, and their four children in Battersea, south London. He was born in Medina, Saudi Arabia, in 1966. His fourth child, Faris, was born the day he was flown to Guantánamo. |
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