Шейкер Аамер: Тринадцать лет в Гуантанамо и путь к освобождению.

Saudi citizen held in Guantanamo Bay from 2001–2015

Shaker Abd al Rahim Muhammad Aamer (born 21 December 1966) is a Saudi citizen who was held by the United States in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba for more than thirteen years without charge. Aamer was seized in Afghanistan by bounty hunters, who handed him over to US forces in December 2001 during the United States military operation in the country. Two months later, the US rendered Aamer to the Guantánamo camp; he was held there without trial or charge. Aamer had been a legal resident in Britain for years before his imprisonment; the UK government repeatedly demanded his release, and many people there called for him to be released. Aamer denies being involved in terrorist activity and his lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, said the leaked documents would not stand up in court. He claimed that part of the evidence came from an unreliable witness and that confessions Aamer made had been obtained through torture. Aamer's father in law, Saaed Ahmed Siddique, said: "All of these claims have no basis. If any of this was true he would be in a court now." The Bush administration acknowledged later that it had no evidence against Aamer. Aamer has never been charged with any wrongdoing, was never on trial, and his lawyer says he is "totally innocent." He has been described as a "charismatic leader" who spoke up and fought for the rights of fellow prisoners. Aamer alleges that he has been subject to torture while in detention. Aamer has suffered decline in his mental and physical health over the years, as he participated in hunger strikes to protest his detention conditions, and was held in solitary confinement for much of the time. He claims to have lost 40 per cent of his body weight in captivity. After a visit in November 2011, his lawyer said, "I do not think it is stretching matters to say that he is gradually dying in Guantanamo Bay." In 2015, despite Aamer's deteriorating health, the US denied a request for an independent medical examination. In February 2015, 3 pupils from Kenilworth School, Warwickshire, Alex Brown, Thomas Edwards and Gareth Evans sent a letter requesting the release of Aamer to Jeremy Wright MP, which many believe was the start of helping Aamer being released and returned to the UK. Aamer, the last British resident to be held at Guantanamo Bay, was released to the United Kingdom on 30 October 2015.

Aamer was born on 21 December 1966 and grew up in Medina in Saudi Arabia. He left the country at the age of 17. He lived and traveled in the United States, Europe and the Middle East. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1996 where he met Zin Siddique, a British woman; they married in 1997 and he established legal residency in Britain. They have four British children, the youngest of whom Aamer had never met, due to his having been born after Aamer's imprisonment. Aamer had indefinite leave to remain in the UK, and was applying for British citizenship. Aamer worked as an Arabic translator for London law firms. Some of the solicitors he worked for dealt with immigration cases. In his spare time, Aamer helped refugees find accommodation and offered them advice on their struggles with the Home Office. In 2012, Aamer's family lived in Battersea, South London. His wife Zin Aamer suffered from depression and mental episodes after his arrest. Saeed Siddique, Aamer's father in law, said in 2011, "When he was captured, Shaker offered to let my daughter divorce him, but she said, 'No, I will wait for you.' She is still waiting."

Aamer took his family to Afghanistan in 2001, where he was working for an Islamic charity when the U. S. invaded the country later that year. In 2010, the Guantanamo Review Task Force released their report of the detainee assessments. In many instances, the Task Force largely agreed with prior threat assessments of the detainees and sometimes found additional information that further substantiated such assessments. In other instances, the Task Force found prior assessments to be overstated. Some assessments, for example, contained allegations that were not supported by the underlying source document upon which they relied. Other assessments contained conclusions that were stated categorically even though derived from uncorroborated statements or raw intelligence reporting of undetermined or questionable reliability. Conversely, in a few cases, the Task Force discovered reliable information indicating that a detainee posed a greater threat in some respects than prior assessments suggested. Aamer denies being involved in terrorist activity and his attorney, Clive Stafford Smith of Reprieve, said the evidence against his client "would not stand up in court." He pointed out that part of the evidence comes from Yasim Muhammed Basardah, whom American judges found to be "utterly incredible" and who was tortured and "promised all sorts of things." He said that guards/agents repeatedly knocked his head against the wall while an MI5 officer was in the room. Other former detainees have alleged similar mistreatment by MI5 and MI6 agents, including torture. Seven detainees filed suit against the British government over their mistreatment and torture. In November 2010, the British government settled the suit, paying the detainees millions of pounds in compensation. Aamer is also on the compensation list and part of the deal, but details are not known as most of the deal is still secret.

The United Kingdom government initially refused to intervene on the behalf of Guantánamo detainees who were legal British residents but were not British citizens. In August 2007, Foreign Secretary David Miliband requested the release of Aamer and four other men, based on their having been granted refugee status, or similar leave, to remain in Britain as residents prior to their capture by US forces. With the repatriation of Binyam Mohammed in February 2009, all British citizens and residents other than Aamer had been released. The UK government officials repeatedly raised Aamer's case with the Americans. On a visit to the United States on 13 March 2009, when asked about Guantánamo captives, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said that the US administration has said they do not want to return Aamer to the UK. William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, raised Aamer's case again with Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, in November 2010, followed by meetings with other US officials. At the time, the US government had reached settlement with former detainees as a resolution for damages due to the use of torture in interrogation. Supporters of Aamer criticized the UK government for not doing enough on his behalf; they urged the government to step up their efforts. In January 2012, The Independent revealed that the British government has spent £274,345 fighting in court including preventing Aamer's lawyers gaining access to evidence which might have proved his innocence. The newspaper reported that Aamer had several serious medical complaints from years of "inhumane" detention conditions, and that the UK gave false hope to his family.

In January 2010, his 12 year old daughter Johina wrote a letter to Gordon Brown asking for her father's release. On 11 December 2010, hundreds took to the streets in London near the US embassy to demand Aamer's release. In February 2011, Amnesty International called Aamer's incarceration a "mockery of justice" and denounced the "cruel limbo" he was held in. At the same time The Guardian reported that people had sent 12000 emails to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and UK MPs in support of Aamer. In May 2011, students of University of St Andrews protested for the release of Aamer. In early 2012, as Aamer neared ten years' imprisonment in Guantánamo, campaigners stepped up efforts for his release. Among them, Jane Ellison, Tory MP for Battersea, wrote to President Barack Obama to urge Aamer's release. February 2012, marking the 10th anniversary of Aamer's detention, a series of protests took place in England while detainees conducted a hunger strike in Guantanamo. By April 2013, 117,384 British citizens or UK residents had signed an online petition to pressure the UK Government for Aamer's release. In July 2013, Clive Stafford Smith, director of the UK branch of Reprieve; Frankie Boyle, Scottish comedian; and actress Julie Christie went on a sequential hunger strike in support of Shaker Aamer and his release. In March 2015 British lawmaker John McDonnell said, "The case of Shaker Aamer is one of the worst cases of a miscarriage of justice in the last three decades at least He has endured harsh, and brutal and inhuman treatment," in a debate in which members of all major political parties called for Aamer's release. On 4 July 2015 (US Independence Day), 80 prominent Britons including six former cabinet ministers, leading writers, actors, directors, and musicians urged Obama to free Aamer.

In her album In The Current Climate (2011), singer songwriter Sarah Gillespie had an imaginary first person song of Aamer, entitled "How The West was Won". Gillespie dedicated the track to Aamer in the CD booklet. In August 2013 the singer PJ Harvey released the song "Shaker Aamer," describing Aamer's plight being force fed during a month long hunger strike.