A HAGLEY human rights campaigner has condemned the continued detention of man he believes ‘knew too much’.
Dr David Nicholl says Shaker Aamer, who he describes as “the last Brit in Guantanamo Bay”, may be languishing in the Cuban camp because he probably witnessed unexplained deaths during his imprisonment.
Aamer, whose wife and children are British citizens, was captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and claims he was tortured in the war-torn country by US officials while British personnel were also present.
Dr Nicholl, a Birmingham hospital nurologist, said: “This is nothing short of a disgrace, this man has been held in the most appalling conditions for almost nine years without being charged with any crime.
“President Obama stated in 2008, that Guantanamo Bay should be closed and the UK government stated in 2007 that Shaker should be released, yet he is still stuck there.”
The campaigning doc, from Woodland Avenue, says Black Country people can do their bit to support 43-year-old Shaker by contacting their MPs to put pressure on foreign secretary William Hague to call for his release.
Dr Nicholl ran the 2005 London Marathon to highlight the cases of three British Guantanamo inmates and, the day before, he and three prisoners’ relatives, including Shaker Aamer’s father-in-law, Saeed Siddique, delivered a letter highlighting the issue to Downing Street.
Two other British detainees, Jamal Kiyemba and Omar Deghayes, have since been released without charge but Shaker, who claims to have been kept in solitary confinement and tortured during his detention at Guantanamo Bay, is still inside.
Dr Nicholl said: “ One possible explanation is that he may have been a witness to three alleged suicides that took place in June 2006.
“These deaths have not had an independent investigation, and it has been suggested that Shaker Aamer may have witnessed something he should not have.
“The only way he is going to be released is by ordinary people writing to their MPs to put more pressure on the Foreign Office to press for his immediate release.”
The British Government says Prime Minister David Cameron is continuing to make efforts to secure Shaker’s release although the decision ultimately lies with US authorities.
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