US approves release of oldest Guantanamo prisoner - a Pakistani man accused of ties with Al-Qaeda
- Saifullah Paracha, who was captured in Thailand in 2003, was held in Guantanamo Bay prison on suspicion of ties to Al-Qaeda but has never been charged.
- Abdul Rabbani, also a citizen of Pakistan, and Uthman Abdul al-Rahim Uthman, a Yemeni have also been released.
The United States has approved the release of a Pakistani who was held for 16 Years at Guantanamo Prison on suspicion of ties with Al-Qaeda.
73-year-old Saifullah Paracha was the oldest prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. He has also been described as among the sickest there, with heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure, The New York Times reported. Shelby Sullivan-Bennis, who represented Paracha at his hearing in November, said he was cleared by the prisoner review board along with two other men.
Bennis further said that the notification of Paracha's release said that he is 'not a continuing threat' to the US. Paracha, who was captured in Thailand in 2003, was held on suspicion of ties to Al-Qaeda but has never been charged with a crime.
The other two prisoners to be released are identified as Abdul Rabbani, 54, from Pakistan, and Uthman Abdul al-Rahim Uthman, 40, a Yemeni. They both have also not been charged with a crime by the US since their incarceration.
It is unclear when and where the three men will go after their release as some of the other detainees who have been cleared for release over the years have been waiting for a decade for another country to agree to take them.
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