British anti-terrorism police are drawing up plans for the return to the UK of the remaining four Britons held as terrorist suspects in Guantanamo Bay.
Four Muslim men have spent up to three years imprisoned in tiny cages without charge or trial. They are expected to be released within days of their arrival back on British soil.
Yesterday was the third anniversary of the US taking prisoners to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba; they were branded as enemy combatants and accused of links to al-Qaeda. The detentions without any rights and persistent allegations of torture have caused anger around the world and tarnished the US' reputation.
British police have been put on standby to expect the return of the four Britons soon. A police source said the announcement of the return was expected "in weeks rather than months."
Last March five Britons were transferred by the US from Guantanamo Bay to the UK. After several days of questioning by anti-terrorism officers they were all freed without charge.
The source said the same was expected to happen this time, though there remained the slim possibility that during interviews admissions could be made that could lead to charges.
The four Britons include Feroz Abbasi, from Croydon, south London, and Moazzam Begg, from Birmingham. In July 2003 US President George W. Bush designated these two Britons to face military commissions, but the plan was abandoned after an outcry led to the British government condemning the US plans.
The other two detainees are Martin Mubanga, who was arrested in Zambia, and Richard Belmar from London.
Pentagon spokesman Major Michael Shavers declined to comment on any reports of an imminent release, but said: "We're regularly in negotiations with other governments, including the UK, about transferring detainees from Guantanamo Bay. As in the past, if a transfer is made, we'll announce it once it is complete."
In October the Guardian revealed that the Pentagon offered to send the remaining Britons back home, to serve their sentences in the UK. It was an offer Britain rejected.
Airlines in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore yesterday canceled flights to and from the Indonesian island of Bali, after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower into the sky. Australia’s Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all grounded flights after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores island spewed a 9km tower a day earlier. Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, India’s IndiGo and Singapore’s Scoot also listed flights as canceled. “Volcanic ash poses a significant threat to safe operations of the aircraft in the vicinity of volcanic clouds,” AirAsia said as it announced several cancelations. Multiple eruptions from the 1,703m twin-peaked volcano in
A plane bringing Israeli soccer supporters home from Amsterdam landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport on Friday after a night of violence that Israeli and Dutch officials condemned as “anti-Semitic.” Dutch police said 62 arrests were made in connection with the violence, which erupted after a UEFA Europa League soccer tie between Amsterdam club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli flag carrier El Al said it was sending six planes to the Netherlands to bring the fans home, after the first flight carrying evacuees landed on Friday afternoon, the Israeli Airports Authority said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered
Former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi said if US President Joe Biden had ended his re-election bid sooner, the Democratic Party could have held a competitive nominating process to choose his replacement. “Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race,” Pelosi said in an interview on Thursday published by the New York Times the next day. “The anticipation was that, if the president were to step aside, that there would be an open primary,” she said. Pelosi said she thought the Democratic candidate, US Vice President Kamala Harris, “would have done
Farmer Liu Bingyong used to make a tidy profit selling milk but is now leaking cash — hit by a dairy sector crisis that embodies several of China’s economic woes. Milk is not a traditional mainstay of Chinese diets, but the Chinese government has long pushed people to drink more, citing its health benefits. The country has expanded its dairy production capacity and imported vast numbers of cattle in recent years as Beijing pursues food self-sufficiency. However, chronically low consumption has left the market sloshing with unwanted milk — driving down prices and pushing farmers to the brink — while
RSS