BRITAIN and the US have agreed on the transfer of ex-British resident Binyam Mohamed from detention in Guantanamo Bay "as soon as the practical arrangements can be made," the Foreign Office said today. The announcement - of what would be the first release from Guantanamo since US President Barack Obama took office - came shortly after the Washington Post newspaper reported that Mohamed could be flown to Britain as early as Monday.
| Are they constructing a pine box in which to transport him? |
"The UK and US governments have reached agreement on the transfer of Mr Binyam Mohamed from Guantanamo Bay to the UK. He will be returned as soon as the practical arrangements can be made," a Foreign Office statement said.
| "We need more eight-penny nails!" |
"This result follows recent discussions between the British and US governments and a medical assessment, undertaken by a UK doctor, that Mr Mohamed is medically fit to return."
| "He'll fit. You might have to bend him at the knees." |
Mr Obama ordered the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison within a year, two days after taking office one month ago, and banned the use of torture in terror interrogations in a dramatic repudiation of his predecessor George W. Bush.
| Who had banned torture in 2003 ... |
The Washington Post said Ethiopian-born Mohamed, who is 30, could be flown home from Monday, when US Attorney General Eric Holder is to visit Guantanamo with other Justice Department officials tasked by Obama to carry out a review to determine the fate of its approximately 245 detainees.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has said repeatedly in recent weeks that he wants Mohamed, who has refugee status in Britain, back "as soon as possible".
| So that he can be released and draw benefits. |
The Foreign Office noted that it had requested the release and return of all former legal British residents detained at Guantanamo Bay in August 2007. "In reaching this decision, we gave full consideration to the need to maintain national security and the government's overriding responsibilities in this regard," it noted.
Mohamed - who staged out a 13-day hunger strike this month as efforts to secure his return came to a climax - will not necessarily be allowed to stay in Britain for good, the statement added.
| "We might bury the box elsewhere." |
"Mr Mohamed's return does not constitute a commitment... that he may remain permanently in the UK," the Foreign Office said. "His immigration status will be reviewed following his return and the same security considerations will apply to him as would apply to any other foreign national in this country," it said.
"As always, all appropriate steps will be taken to protect national security."
| "An extra deep hole will be dug, and the vault will be reinforced." |
Rights group Reprieve, which has battled for Mohamed's release, nonetheless welcomed the announcement. "This is truly wonderful news for Binyam Mohamed, who wants nothing more to return to normal life in Britain," said its director Clive Stafford Smith.
| "Which he will right after we disinter and resuscitate him." |
"The Foreign Office have worked long and hard to secure Binyam's release from Guantanamo Bay."
| Putting foreign back into the Foreign Office. |
"We thank them for their efforts on Binyam's behalf and to those in the Obama administration who assisted them."
| "It's not every day that the Foreign Office helps us put a known terrorist back on the streets." |
Mohamed was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 before being taken to Morocco and Afghanistan, and later to Guantanamo, the US "war on terror" detention camp. He was suspected of attending an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan and of plotting to build a radioactive "dirty bomb," but has never been charged.
Earlier this month, Mr Miliband denied the United States had threatened to review intelligence-sharing arrangements with Britain if evidence about alleged torture of Mohamed was released.
He spoke after two British judges called for the British government to release "powerful evidence" provided by US intelligence services about Mohamed's interrogation.
| It's always alleged but never proven. |
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