Aamer detention 'a mockery of justice'

Mr Aamer has been held without charge by the US for exactly nine years.

Amnesty International denounced the "cruel limbo" he has been left in and renewed calls for him to be tried or released back to his wife and children in Britain.

Thousands of Amnesty supporters have written to Foreign Secretary William Hague about his situation and Amnesty director Kate Allen said there could now be "light at the end of the tunnel" for Mr Aamer.

"Currently all the signs point to heightened behind-the-scenes activity over Shaker's situation and it's vital that we tell politicians that we won't rest until his case is fairly resolved," she said.

"Given the time involved, the lengthy spells in solitary confinement and the torture allegedly used against him, Shaker Aamer's plight has been one of the worst of all the detainees held at Guantanamo."

Mr Aamer was captured in December 2001 by the US, which has claimed he was fighting with the Taliban, and moved to Guantanamo the following year, but no charges have ever been brought.

In February 2002 he was transferred to the US base at Guantanamo Bay, where he has languished ever since.

He led the first hunger strike at Guantanamo and claimed that he was tortured numerous times in Afghanistan, including by US officials while British personnel were present.

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