Guantanamo three arrive back in the UK
- 00:02:13
- ITN
Guantanamo three arrive back in the UK
Three British residents held at Guantanamo Bay detention centre for several years have arrived back in the UK.Jamil el-Banna, Omar Deghayes and Abdennour Samuer landed at Luton Airport at 7pm on board a charter jet from the camp in Cuba, the former detainees' lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, said.Two of them were arrested shortly before they landed at Luton Airport at 7pm, police said.Earlier this month, the US refused a request from Britain to release a fourth UK resident, Saudi national Shaker Aamer, and talks are still under way about a fifth man, Ethiopian Binyam Mohamed.Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the US government had "expressed significant additional security concerns" over Aamer and Mohammed.Amani Deghayes, sister of Omar Deghayes, said: "I'm extremely relieved that Omar's ordeal is finally coming to end after over five years of suffering in Guantanamo."We're looking forward to spending the Eid as family together. Our family has always said that Omar was totally innocent - one of the hundreds of people taken to Guantanamo by the Americans for no good reason."She added: "At the same time, we always insisted that if there was any evidence against Omar then it was only right that he should stand trial."Instead he's been on the receiving end of brutal and illegal treatment."Our family wants to thank Amnesty International, Save Omar campaigners and others for their continued support, along with Reprieve, Birnbergs (solicitors) and other lawyers who have fought so hard to help secure Omar's release."Now we'll be concentrating on looking after Omar and putting all this behind us."The US has faced fierce criticism worldwide for the detention without charge - often for years - of suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban members at Guantanamo Bay.About 305 inmates are still held at the prison, including about 70 whom US military panels have cleared for release or transfer.Elsewhere, five former Guantanamo inmates have been found guilty by a French court of terrorism-related charges and have been sentenced to one year in prison.A sixth man was acquitted, according to the ruling that was read out in court.The verdict took into account the 18-30 months the defendants had spent in Guantanamo, where they claim to have been tortured, and none will have to serve further time in jail.Prosecutors said the five men, who are all French nationals, received military training in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan between 2000 and 2001. They were accused of "criminal association in relation to a terrorist enterprise".Five of the men had confirmed they had been in al-Qaeda training camps but said they had not carried out any military action before their capture.The trial began last year but was thrown into doubt after it emerged that French agents secretly interviewed the six in 2002 during their Cuban detention when they were shackled and detained in cages in the heat of the sun.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.
ITN | December 19, 2007
