Oldest Guantanamo Bay prisoner, 75, is freed and flown home to Pakistan after 18 years imprisoned

A Pakistani who was held by the United States for 18 years in Guantanamo Bay detention camp without trial on suspicion of al-Qaeda links returned to Pakistan on Saturday after becoming the oldest inmate at the detention center.

Saifullah Paracha, 75, was first captured in Thailand in July 2003 and taken to the US military base in Bagram, Afghanistan, before being transferred to the camp at the US Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2004.

Authorities claimed he was an al-Qaeda “facilitator” who helped two of the conspirators in the September 11 plot with a financial transaction following the attacks.

Those conspirators were allegedly Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who is accused of planning the 9/11 attacks, and Mohammed’s cousin, Ammar al-Baluchi.

Paracha was captured in Thailand in 2003 during an FBI attack. He has admitted to securing $500,000 but says he was unaware the conspirators were al-Qaeda

Defense Department confirmed the repatriation and said Paracha’s continued detention was no longer necessary to protect against a “significant threat” to the US

Khalid Mohammed remains in Guantanamo Bay, with no trial date set for the death penalty after the trial was postponed in January 2021 due to COVID-19. Ammar al-Baluchi is also being held in Guantanamo Bay.

“We are pleased that a Pakistani citizen detained abroad is finally being reunited with his family,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

At age 75, Paracha was the oldest inmate in the camp, according to Reprieve, a London-based human rights group working on his case. He has never been charged.

Paracha admits to securing $500,000 but says he was unaware the conspirators were al-Qaeda and denies any involvement in terrorism.

Paracha was captured in Thailand in 2003 during an FBI attack. Paracha thought he was going to discuss a merchandising deal with Kmart, but was seized by intelligence agents and flown to Afghanistan.

The US has held him in Guantanamo since September 2004 and has long claimed it can hold prisoners indefinitely without charge under international law of war.

The Defense Department confirmed the repatriation and said Paracha’s continued detention was no longer necessary to protect against a “significant threat” to the security of the United States.

The US has held Paracha in Guantanamo since September 2004 and has long claimed that international law allows it to hold prisoners indefinitely without charge

Paracha has been held in Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay facility for over 18 years, pictured in January 2017

The United States has not transferred a detainee from Guantanamo Bay to Pakistan since 2008.

Paracha is the latest release from the detention camp set up after a US-led invasion of Afghanistan in pursuit of the al-Qaeda network behind the 9/11 attacks.

The camp has been condemned worldwide for holding large numbers of prisoners without charge or trial.

The population peaked at about 800 inmates and then declined during the 2009-2017 Obama administration.

The Defense Department said 35 detainees are in Guantanamo Bay, 20 of whom are eligible for transfer and three for a Periodic Review Board.

Nine are involved in military commissions trial and three have been convicted on military commissions.