article: Britain's last Guantanamo Bay detainee Shaker Aamer is expected to be freed as early as June, according to US government sources. In a development which will hearten his family, officials in Washington said the 48-year-old is likely to be released in the summer after 13 years in captivity without charge or trial. It came as the man appointed by President Barack Obama to speed up the closure of the notorious prison camp said there was ‘no sound reason’ for keeping the terror suspect locked up any longer. British Guantanamo Bay detainee Shaker Aamer (pictured) is expected to be freed in June, US government sources have revealed. He is pictured right and left with son Michael and daughter, Johninh . The 48-year-old has been held at Guantanamo Bay without charge for more than 13 years (file picture of the prison) Campaigners welcomed moves to end the scandal of Saudi-born Mr Aamer continuing to languish in the naval base in Cuba but said his detention was an ‘affront to civilised values’. Mr Aamer, who lived in South London with his wife and children, is the longest-serving UK resident in Guantanamo and has twice been cleared for release, by the Bush administration in 2007, and by Barack Obama in 2009. His imprisonment is embarrassing for David Cameron, who said Mr Obama had vowed to prioritise the detainee’s release after White House talks in January. But sources in the White House said the father-of-four was expected to be one of 11 captives transferred within weeks. Cliff Sloan, who was the State Department’s envoy dealing with prisoner transfers until last year, said: ‘They should be moved just as promptly as possible. We are talking about people who have been at Guantanamo for 12 or 13 years... they should not be having to spend a day longer than necessary in Guantanamo.’ He said there was no sound reason for delay. Officials said the transfer will take place after a 30-day notice period to Congress, following a sign-off from US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter. Kat Craig, legal director of Reprieve, which has represented Mr Aamer, said: ‘He continues to be the victim of the most extraordinary injustice, as well as daily abuses that are an affront to civilised values. ‘Any moves to return Shaker to his British wife and children cannot come soon enough, and should be welcomed.’ The UK has made repeated calls since 2010 for the release of the 48-year-old, who has a British wife and four children in London . Karla McLaren, of Amnesty International UK, said: ‘These reports are obviously encouraging but we’ve been here before. ‘There have been so many false dawns over the release of Shaker that we won’t believe it until a plane bringing him back actually touches down here in Britain. ‘Guantanamo has always been a complete travesty of justice and whoever is in government must ensure... Shaker is returned to his family as soon as possible if he’s not going to be charged.’ Saudi-born Mr Aamer moved to London almost 20 years ago and married, securing leave to remain in Britain. In 2001 he was detained in Kabul while doing peaceful voluntary work for an Islamic charity, his supporters say. He was handed to the US military for money and tortured at a secret ‘black site’ prison. US intelligence claimed he financed Al Qaeda and was a key aide of Osama Bin Laden, an accusation that he vehemently denied. Despite being cleared for release, US officials are determined that he should be sent to Saudi Arabia, even though there are serious concerns he will face torture there. Mr Aamer’s lawyers allege the intention is to silence their client, who claims to have witnessed abuse in the presence of a British security official. But the Foreign Office welcomed President Obama’s commitment to prioritise Mr Aamer’s case, saying: ‘We will continue to work with the US to secure his release as a matter of urgency.’ The Daily Mail has long campaigned for the closure of the inhumane Guantanamo Bay prison camp. The paper has also championed the release of Mr Aamer. Pressure to explain why the London father had been incarcerated for 13 years without charge or trial ratcheted up in December amid global outrage at a US Senate report into the torture of terror suspects by the CIA. That month, we told how the detainee’s family had broken their silence to insist that if the 48-year-old came home he would have no hesitation in facing a British court to lay to rest grave allegations that he is a dangerous extremist. Then, a day before Christmas, we revealed how David Miliband, when he was Foreign Secretary, had secretly plotted to hand Mr Aamer to the hardline Saudi Arabian authorities while leading his British family to believe he was seeking to bring him back to the UK. Documents obtained by the Mail show the Labour government was involved in negotiations to transfer Mr Aamer from the camp to the Arab kingdom despite fears he would be tortured. In January, leading doctors warned that 13 years in Guantanamo – described as an ‘affront to humanity’ – had destroyed Mr Aamer’s physical and mental health. The Mail also told how he had been beaten 315 times by guards. Mr Aamer was sent to Guantanamo Bay in February 2002 after being detained in Kabul, Afghanistan while, his representatives claim, he was carrying out peaceful voluntary work for an Islamic charity . 1996 – US-educated Saudi translator Shaker Aamer settles in London, marries Briton Zin Siddique . Summer 2001 – Mr Aamer takes family to Kabul and works for Saudi charity . September 11, 2001 – Al Qaeda terrorists attack America . November 2001 – Taliban regime falls . December 24, 2001 – Mr Aamer handed to US troops by Northern Alliance; taken to Bagram. February 14, 2002 – Mr Aamer flown to Guantanamo . 2004–09 – 17 other UK-based Guantanamo detainees freed – but Mr Aamer kept at camp . US President Barack Obama (pictured) has repeatedly vowed to close the prison at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba . November 2008 – Obama pledges to close Guantanamo . 2007 and 2009 – Mr Aamer cleared by US tribunals as safe to release but he is not freed . February 2013 – Foreign Secretary reveals US will only allow Mr Aamer’s transfer to Saudi Arabia, not UK . December 2014 - Celebrity backers including Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, TV presenter Janet Ellis and her singer daughter Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and the actress Juliet Stevenson call for Obama to secure Mr Aamer's release . January 2015 - Barack Obama agrees to ‘prioritise’ Mr Aamer's case after talks with David Cameron at the White House . April 2015 - US government sources claim he is likely to be transferred to an undisclosed country over the summer .
highlights: Shaker Aamer has been held at Guantanamo without charge for 13 years .
  The 48-year-old, from London, could be freed in June, it has been revealed .
  US President Barack Obama has repeatedly vowed to close the facility .
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