Former Gitmo inmate to take legal action against UK govt.

The British resident who spent nearly 14 years at the US-run detention facility in Guantanamo Bay is now planning to sue the UK government for alleged complicity in his torture.

Shaker Aamer’s lawyers say they initiated legal action against the British government on his behalf but the proceeding could not be followed until his return to the UK.

According to some speculations, Aamer may get a compensation payout of £1 million, if he wins the case.

But Aamer’s high priority is shedding light on the alleged UK complicity in rendition and torture.

"This is a huge priority of Shaker's. He doesn't want to have people persecuted. He doesn't want to have small people, who were sent out to do their jobs, prosecuted for what they did… What he does want is that the whole world should know what did happen so we can set in place rules so that British agents and, let's hope, American agents don't get involved in the torture business in the future,”  said Clive Stafford-Smith, of human rights group Reprieve, who fought his case.

Aamer’s case is expected to include a claim for damages from the UK’s security and intelligence agencies.

Aamer says the British intelligence officers interrogated him three times while he was at the US detention facility in Cuba.  He also claims that they witnessed him being tortured at a US-run prison in Afghanistan shortly after 9/11.

The British resident, who is father of four, was detained while working as a charity worker in Afghanistan back in 2001.

‘Strong case’

Meanwhile, a British journalist believes Aamer will have a strong case against both the British and the US governments.

“I think Shaker Aamer has a very strong case against both the British government and the US government. He has been held without trial and that is a basic violation of human law…,”  Hafsa Kara-Mustapha told Press TV on Saturday.

“The idea that when somebody is accused of a crime, he has the right to have a fair trial in front of the judge and jury and present his case. He was denied this very basic rights and as a result he was detained for many years, over a decade, deprived of seeing his family, deprived of living his life and I think that’s a very strong case that he has against these governments,” she added.

“[These countries] lecture other countries on the importance of respecting the law. I think the successful outcome of this case will stop these governments from bullying weaker people and weaker nations,” the London-based journalist noted.

Health concerns

The last British detainee at Guantánamo Bay arrived in the UK on Friday.

He left the airport in an ambulance to undertake a medical checkup.

There are rising concerns about the 48 year old man’s health who spent prolonged periods on hunger strike in protest at his detention.

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