Binyam Mohamed, a British resident held at Guantanamo Bay for more than four years, was released and returned to Britain on Monday, accusing the U.S. government of orchestrating his torture. "I am pleased that Binyam Mohamed has today returned to the U.K. following his release from Guantanamo Bay," Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a statement, as television pictures showed what they said was Mohamed's plane landing at RAF Northolt airbase in northwest London. "This is the direct result of our request for his release and return and follows intensive negotiations with the U.S. government."The United States agreed to release Mohamed last week after 18 months of pressure from the British government. He is the first prisoner to be transferred from Guantanamo since U.S. President Barack Obama took office last month and promptly pledged to shut it.
Tortured in "medieval way"
After his release Mohamed issued a statement via his lawyers saying he had been "tortured in medieval ways--all orchestrated by the U.S. government."
"I have been through an experience that I never thought to encounter in my darkest nightmares. Before this ordeal, 'torture' was an abstract word for me. I could never have imagined that I would be its victim," he added.
Miliband added that Mohamed had been accompanied on the flight by Foreign Office officials, Metropolitan Police officers and a doctor and that Mohamed's family and lawyers had been informed. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said Sunday that Mohamed would be granted temporary admission into Britain, where he has refugee status. She added that a final judgment on his immigration status would be made based on "the facts at the time" and said he would be treated fairly. The Foreign Office has stressed that Mohamed will not necessarily be allowed to remain here permanently.
From Pakistan to Morocco
" the very worst moment came when I realized in Morocco that the people who were torturing me were receiving questions and materials from British intelligence "Binyam Mohamed |
Morocco has denied holding him and the U.S. government has denied that he was subjected to "extraordinary rendition."
Mohamed has been accused of receiving al-Qaeda training in Afghanistan and Pakistan and of plotting to detonate a "dirty bomb" on the U.S. transport network, but all charges brought against him have been dropped and he has never been tried.