British Government Must Now Help Jamil - Teather

1.00.00pm GMT Thu 29th Mar 2007

Sarah has frequently lobbied the Government to have Bisher and Jamil brought home

Following the release of Bisher al-Rawi, Jamil el-Banna's close friend and fellow Guantánamo detainee, local Liberal Democrat MP for Brent East Sarah Teather has called on the Government to step up their efforts for Jamil.

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has today announced that Bisher al-Rawi will be returned to the UK 'shortly, as soon as the practical arrangements have been made'.

Bisher and Jamil were grabbed in the Gambia on 2nd November 2002. They were arrested and questioned for some days for carrying a 'suspicious device'. This device has since been revealed to be a battery charger.

The two men were held in total isolation in a Dark Prison for two weeks, before being flown to Afghanistan and then Guantánamo, where they have since remained without any charges being brought against them.

Campaigners in Brent have been calling for the men to be either charged or released. Sarah has visited Washington twice, most recently in February this year, to lobby the American Government on behalf of Bisher and Jamil. She also founded the All Party Parliamentary Group on Guantánamo Bay, to campaign for the release of Jamil and all other British residents illegally detained in the camp.

Local Liberal Democrat MP for Brent East Sarah Teather said:

"This is fantastic news for Bisher Al-Rawi's family and friends here in London. But their joy will be tarnished by the knowledge that Bisher's closest friend, Jamil el-Banna, remains detained without charge, trial or hope.

"Jamil was picked up and taken to Guantánamo with Bisher, on the basis of the same flawed intelligence passed by the British security services. Both have been detained and tortured with no respect for international law. The British Government now have a clear moral duty to intervene on behalf of Jamil.

"Jamil's five children are British citizens living here in Brent. The Government's refusal to stand up to America has had a devastating impact on my constituent's lives. If we really have a special relationship with America it is high time this was used to bring Jamil el-Banna back home to his family.

"Guantánamo is an international outrage, directly at odds with the very values the war on terror purports to defend. The British Government must make it absolutely clear to the USA that all remaining British residents in the camp should be either charged with a crime, or released."

Related Link:

Read the Foreign Secretary's Statement to MPs.