Guantanamo man heads back to UK
A BRITISH resident held for more than four years at Guantanamo Bay is to be freed after a plea by Tony Blair.
Bisher Al Rawi, an Iraqi citizen who moved to Britain 23 years ago, has been locked up in the US prison camp since he was arrested in Gambia in 2002.
Mr Al Rawi, an associate of radical cleric Abu Qatada, was visiting Africa with business partner Jamil El Banna when they were held for alleged terrorist links. They were flown to a US interrogation centre in Afghanistan before being transferred to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
In January, Mr Blair backed a call to George Bush from Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett requesting his release. Lib Dem Ed Davey, who has campaigned for Mr Al Rawi, said he “is not and has never been a threat to national or international security”.
Mr Al Rawi, from south-west London, has been given indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Jordanian-born Mr El Banna is still being held at Guantanamo Bay alongside seven other former British residents, it is believed.