Britain’s last Guantanamo Detainee: The real story behind Shaker Aamer

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HJS looks at the al-Qaeda suspect who may be eligible for a payout thought to be worth approximately £1,000,000,  and for whom even the Prime Minister is campaigning.

Last Sunday, for the second week in a row, The Henry Jackson Society has been featured prominently in The Sunday Telegraph. After our initial, front-page success in highlighting the number of terrorists using human rights legislation to stay in the UK, we turned our attention to the case of the last remaining British resident still held at Guantánamo Bay, Shaker Aamer.

HJS Research Fellow Robin Simcox once again provided the ammunition for this exposé, summarizing his research in our latest briefing Britain’s Last Guantánamo Detainee: Who is Shaker Aamer? In conjunction with The Sunday Telegraph, we have sought to ensure this ongoing story continues to receive much-needed attention, pushing back on the narrative built by the supporters of what could become one of the most potent spokespeople for the forces that seek to harm us and our allies.

The briefing behind the piece details the allegations made by U.S. and other officials, examining Aamer’s activities leading up to his incarceration by the U.S. as well as during his time at Guantánamo Bay (where he was described by one guard as the camp’s ‘Bon Jovi’ for his celebrity status and power over other inmates).

The briefing raises several issues around Aamer’s activities, including:

  • Seven separate sources at Guantánamo attested to Aamer’s connections to either al-Qaeda or Osama bin Laden.
  • The charities that Aamer said he has worked for in the past have been listed by the United Nations and U.S. Treasury as al-Qaeda support groups.
  • Aamer is suspected of fighting at Tora Bora, Afghanistan, as the U.S. and its allies attacked al-Qaeda and Taliban forces there towards the end of 2001. Multiple detainees at Guantánamo Bay have identified Aamer as the commander of the Juhanya Centre in Tora Bora (Abu Juhanyah was one of Shaker Aamer’s aliases).
  • Fellow Guantánamo detainees have claimed Aamer became the de facto emir of a group of detainees on the strength of his personal charisma, making others swear loyalty to him and spreading civil unrest.

Robin Simcox, Research Fellow at The Henry Jackson Society and author of the briefing, commented:

“The U.S. government has clearly had a multitude of good reasons to detain Shaker Aamer on the basis of his suspected connections to al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and other jihadists. Furthermore the charities that Aamer said he worked for are known to be al-Qaeda support groups.  Aamer’s formidable reputation among the other detainees at Guantánamo Bay shows that he remains highly influential. There is far more to Aamer than the benign image his supporters portray.”

Britain’s Last Guantánamo Detainee: Who is Shaker Aamer? is available to download here