stellauk
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As another anniversary for 9/11 passes we are waiting patiently for the release and return of Shaker Aamer who has been held in Guantanamo Bay without charge for over 10 years.
Shaker Aamer is a Saudi national and British resident who was arrested in Afghanistan in 2002 where he was doing voluntary work. He faces no charges or trial, having been cleared for release by the US Administration in 2007 and also again in 2011.
His wife and four children are waiting patiently for his return. His first child Johina was born in 1997. Shaker was an involved father who changed nappies without complaint and as time passed his family grew. Michael was born in 1999, Saif was born in 2000 and another son Faris was born in 2002 - after his father had been imprisoned. Shaker has never seen his youngest son.
Shaker is a natural leader who is known for his concern for others. While in London he worked as an Arabic translator for the solicitor who handled his immigration case. He enjoyed helping refugees, as counsel, listening and advising.
In June 2001 Shaker went to Afghanistan to do voluntary work for an Islamic charity. He went to Kabul, which was at peace at the time. However after 9/11 the bombing started in Kabul. Fearing that he would be taken prisoner by the Northern Alliance who were suspicious of all Arabs in Afghanistan he went into hiding with an Afghan family. His freedom didn't last long.
Soldiers arrived at the house, stripped Shaker of his belongings and took him away at gunpoint. For the next two weeks Shaker was sold to various groups of soldiers who accused him of killing their leader and beat him mercilessly. The abuse continued and when Shaker and four other Arab prisoners were driven out of Kabul one night, he thought that this was the end and he was going to be executed.
However the sound of a helicopter and American accents gave him relief. 'Americans', he thought, 'We are saved'.
Not quite. His transfer to US forces was the start of a new ordeal. Shaker arrived at Bagram Air Force Base at the end of December 2001 where he suffered terrible abuse. He was forced to stay awake for nine days straight and denied food. He lost 60lbs in weight. US personnel would dump freezing water on him. This together with the bitter Afghan winter caused Shaker to develop frostbite. He was chained for hours in positions that made movement unbearable and his swollen, blackened feet were beaten. He was refused the painkillers he begged for.
Shaker began to say whatever the US wanted irrespective of whether it was true or not. Satisfied with confessions made by a man desperate to end his torture the US military transferred Shaker to Guantanamo Bay.
To date Shaker remains in solitary confinement in a small steel and concrete cell without a view of the sky. His lawyer Clive Stafford Smith OBE of the legal charity Reprieve has stated that Shaker has suffered years of horrible abuse and that he is slowly dying in Guantanamo from serious medical conditions caused by the brutal treatment and neglect.
Last August (August 2) the Metropolitan Police confirmed that Shaker's allegations that he was tortured in the presence of UK agents in Afghanistan in 2002 are to be investigated.
At both the recent RNC and DNC nobody mentioned Guantanamo Bay.
About Shaker Aamer at the Reprieve website
Save Shaker Aamer
Surely it is time for Guantanamo Bay to be closed and for Shaker to be returned home.
_____________________________
Usually when you have all the answers for something nobody is interested in listening.
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We are still waiting patiently for Shaker Aamer - 
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