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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| UK Guantanamo man 'to be freed' | UK Guantanamo man 'to be freed' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A British resident is to be released from Guantanamo Bay, the Foreign Office has announced. | A British resident is to be released from Guantanamo Bay, the Foreign Office has announced. |
| Bisher al-Rawi, an Iraqi national, has been held at the US detention camp in Cuba for almost five years on suspicion of links to terrorism. | Bisher al-Rawi, an Iraqi national, has been held at the US detention camp in Cuba for almost five years on suspicion of links to terrorism. |
| In a statement, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said it had been agreed with the US authorities that he would be returned to the UK shortly. | In a statement, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said it had been agreed with the US authorities that he would be returned to the UK shortly. |
| The move followed extensive discussions over security implications, she said. | The move followed extensive discussions over security implications, she said. |
| "The UK will continue to take the necessary measures to maintain national and international security," Mrs Beckett added. | "The UK will continue to take the necessary measures to maintain national and international security," Mrs Beckett added. |
| 'Relieved' | |
| Mr al-Rawi, a businessman from New Malden in south-west London, was arrested along with his Jordanian business partner, Jamil al-Banna, on a business trip to Gambia in 2002 on suspicion of links to terrorism. | |
| Kingston and Surbiton MP Edward Davey, who has been campaigning on behalf of his constituent, welcomed the news. | |
| "I am relieved that after nearly five years in prison without charge or trial, my constituent is now being released from Guantanamo Bay," he said. | |
| Mr Davey said that everything he had learned from Mr al-Rawi's family, lawyers and government officials showed he was not and never had been a "threat to national or international security". | Mr Davey said that everything he had learned from Mr al-Rawi's family, lawyers and government officials showed he was not and never had been a "threat to national or international security". |
| Mr al-Rawi reportedly came to England in 1985 after his father was arrested by Saddam Hussein's secret police. | |
| He had lived in the UK for nearly 20 years. His immediate family are UK nationals, but he retained Iraqi citizenship. |