Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian agency: Russia will conduct a nuclear test if the US does
Al-Nakhalah: We are the rightful owners, and we must fight to retrieve our rights
Al-Nakhalah: The enemy and its allies must know that we can never surrender to their terms and diktats after all the sacrifices made
Al-Nakhalah: The prisoner exchange clause can be completed in the next few days, and thus we will have pulled the [explosion] fuse and removed the enemy's justifications for aggression
Al-Nakhalah: The Resistance has expressed its willingness to negotiate on the basis that there are items that can be dealt with positively, the first of which is the prisoner exchange item
Al-Nakhalah: Trump's plan entails the Palestinian people's declaration of complete surrender to the enemy
PIJ Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, in an address aired on Al Mayadeen: The Resistance is engaging in a fierce negotiating battle under the so-called Trump plan
Russian Federation Council approves joint military cooperation agreement with Cuba
Al-Nunu: Today, the lists of prisoners required to be released, the agreed-upon criteria and numbers, were exchanged
Al-Nunu from Sharm el-Sheikh: Negotiations focused on mechanisms for implementing an end to the war, the withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, and the exchange of prisoners

Oldest Guantanamo Bay victim released after 19 years of innocence

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 29 Oct 2022 17:57
  • 3 Shares
3 Min Read

Almost 20 years later, with no evidence of him funding Al-Qaeda, Saif Ullah Paracha is released to Pakistan.

  • x
  • Oldest Guantanamo Bay victim released after 19 years of innocence
    Saif Ullah Paracha, the oldest Guantanamo Bay victim released after 19 years of maintaining his innocence

The oldest detainee in the notorious US-run Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba was released to his home country, Pakistan, on Saturday, as revealed by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry and the Pentagon. 

The detention facility that has occupied Cuban land till this day has hosted hundreds of men with untried allegations of terrorism during the so-called "war on terror" waged by the United States in West Asia in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in New York 21 years ago.

Saif Ullah Paracha, who is now 75, is a businessman who was detained in 2003 while he was in Thailand. He was accused of financing Al-Qaeda. However, Paracha has maintained his innocence and even claimed love for the United States, having been a student there. 

Paracha was never formally charged and had little legal power to challenge his detention. 

"The Foreign Ministry completed an extensive inter-agency process to facilitate the repatriation of Mr. Paracha," Pakistan's foreign office said in a statement on Saturday. "We are glad that a Pakistani citizen detained abroad is finally reunited with his family."

Paracha's arrival comes after US President Joe Biden approved his release last year. Two other detainees had their releases approved as well, Pakistani national Abdul Rabbani, 55, and Yemen native Uthman Abdul al-Rahim Uthman, 41. Peculiarly, the Pakistani foreign ministry made no mention of Rabbani. 

According to the US Department of Defense, Paracha was released after it was determined that his detention "was no longer necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the security of the United States".

The Pentagon thanked Pakistan for its "willingness... to support ongoing US efforts focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility".

Related News

Depleted by foreign wars, US seeks to re-arm for another confrontation

Trump's Federal crackdown continue: National Guard arrives in Chicago

Biden is under pressure to clear out uncharged prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. 

According to a statement by the Pentagon, 35 detainees now remain at the facility, with 20 eligible for transfer and 9 still facing charges at a military tribunal.

Read next: NYT: First declassified photos of Guantanamo Bay released

Guantanamo Bay detainee sustained brain damage after serving as CIA live prop

Ammar Al-Baluchi, also known as Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, is a 44-year-old Pakistani citizen born in Kuwait and currently detained by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. 

The military prison in Cuba -- created after the September 2001 attacks to house detainees in the US' so-called "war on terror" -- is still operating despite international and local calls to close it.

A group of UN experts has repeatedly urged Washington to finally close the site of "unrelenting human rights violations".

Al-Baluchi is one of five detainees facing the death penalty on suspicion of conspiring in the terror attacks.

For years, Al-Baluchi was subjected to excessive torture at the hands of CIA interrogators who used him as a training tool for employees learning the agency's cruel and illegal practices.

He ended up suffering from brain damage after he was used as a live prop for trainee interrogators at a secret CIA black site in Afghanistan, newly declassified documents revealed.

  • Al-Qaeda
  • Afghanistan
  • Guantanamo Bay
  • CIA
  • Cuba
  • United States
  • Pakistan

Most Read

Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (AP)

Tucker Carlson: Israeli officers gave orders on Iran inside Pentagon

  • Politics
  • 2 Oct 2025
A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
ap

'Israel' pays influencers $7K per post to whitewash Gaza genocide

  • Politics
  • 1 Oct 2025
Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder revealed

Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder exposed

  • Politics
  • 5 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
In this May 20, 20201, photo Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of US Central Command, arrives in Baghdad, Iraq (AP)
Politics

US spent $33 billion on post-Oct.7 genocide, wars, Brown Uni reports

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., holds a news conference to mark the seventh day of the government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. (AP)
Politics

US troops face unpaid wages as government shutdown drags on

Mourners wave Hezbollah and a Palestinian flag during the funeral of Hezbollah former leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and his successor Sayyed Hashem Safieddine in the Sports City Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, February 23, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Hezbollah voices support for Gaza, Resistance on October 7 anniversary

Al-Aqsa Flood restored Palestinian cause on the global stage: Hamas
Politics

Al-Aqsa Flood restored Palestinian cause on the global stage: Hamas

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS