Shaker Aamer, the sole Briton held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, is returning to the U.K. late Friday afternoon, the British foreign secretary Philip Hammond announced.
"The Americans announced some weeks ago that they were going to release Shaker Aamer from Guantánamo and I can confirm that he is on his way back to the U.K. now and he will arrive in Britain later today," said Hammond, according to Guardian.
He is expected to land in London, where his wife and four children live, on Friday at noon, reported BBC. Saudi national Aamer is married to a British national, therefore he can indefinitely stay in Britain.
Forty-six-year-old Aamer has been detained at the U.S. military's notorious detention center, often called Gitmo, for more than 13 years.
"Shaker now needs to see a doctor, and then get to spend time alone with his family as soon as possible," said his lawyer and strategic director of Reprieve group Cori Crider, according to Independent.
An Amnesty International rights group welcomed Aamer's release, demanding an investigation into his claims that he was tortured in full view of British agents in Afghanistan.
"After so many twists and turns in this appalling case, we won't really believe that Shaker Aamer is actually being returned to the U.K. until his plane touches down on British soil," the group's U.K. director, Kate Allen, said in a statement.
Aamer was captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and alleged to be a key recruiter for the Al Qaeda network in the country, according to Middle East Eye. However, he was never charged.
