A British resident detained at Guantanamo Bay will spend his first full day of freedom in more than six years after returning to Britain and alleging he was “tortured in medieval ways”.
The transfer of Binyam Mohamed who was born in Ethiopia but held British residency at the time of his arrest was the first under US President Barack Obama,who ordered the closure of the “war on terror” prison on Cuba two days after taking office on January 20.
His release came as a review of conditions at the detention camp by the US Department of Defence called for easing the isolation of some inmates and allowing them more social contact and recreation.
Dressed in casual clothes,Mohamed,30,landed in a small plane at RAF Northolt airbase in northwest London and was escorted across the runway by officials.
He was then detained by police officers under anti-terror laws and questioned for nearly five hours before being freed and told he would face no further action.
“He’s now been released full stop,that’s the end of it,” a Metropolitan Police spokesman told AFP.
His lawyer Clive Stafford Smith told reporters Mohamed then had a “tearful reunion” with his sister,who he had not seen for seven years,and was heading for a secret location.