U.S. Releases Guantánamo’s Oldest Prisoner - The New York Times

GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba — The United States has released the U.S. military’s oldest captive of the warfare connected terror, a 75-year-old businessman who was held for astir 2 decades arsenic a suspected sympathizer of Al Qaeda but was ne'er charged with a crime.

The man, Saifullah Paracha, a erstwhile ineligible nonmigratory of New York, was 1 of Guantánamo’s astir antithetic and amended known “forever prisoners.” Military prosecutors ne'er sought to enactment him connected trial, but reappraisal panels considered him excessively unsafe to merchandise until past year.

His transfer, successful a concealed subject ngo announced by the Pakistani authorities connected Saturday, culminated months of negotiations to put his return. The Pentagon declined to comment. It was not known if Biden medication officials imposed immoderate information restrictions connected Mr. Paracha, but a lawyer swiftly released a photograph of the erstwhile captive sitting successful a McDonald’s successful Karachi, Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said successful a connection connected Saturday that it had “completed an extended interagency process to facilitate repatriation of Mr. Paracha” and that it was “glad that a Pakistani national detained overseas is yet reunited with his family.”

Mr. Paracha arrived astatine Guantánamo successful the aboriginal days of detention operations, erstwhile hundreds of young men captured overseas filled cellblocks astatine the seafront compound.

Just earlier helium left, the 21st commandant of situation operations, a National Guard wide from Michigan, had taken complaint and the detainee colonisation had dwindled to 3 dozen. Of them, 21 person been approved for transportation to the custody of different state with information arrangements that fulfill the caput of defense; for example, information successful a rehabilitation program.

At Guantánamo, Mr. Paracha stood retired among the predominantly younger Muslim men, astir of whom were captured successful their teens and 20s by Afghan oregon Pakistani militias and turned implicit to the United States arsenic presumptive ft soldiers of Al Qaeda oregon the Taliban.

Mr. Paracha was held archetypal astatine a U.S. subject situation successful Bagram, Afghanistan, wherever helium had a bosom attack, his lawyers said. Rather than nonstop him to the concealed situation web tally by the C.I.A., wherever prisoners were tortured, the Bush medication moved him to Guantánamo successful his 14th period of U.S. detention. He became an aboriginal illustration of the situation of holding aging and infirm prisoners astatine the distant U.S. Navy base, which flies successful subject aesculapian specialists from the United States.

“Saifullah should ne'er person been successful Guantánamo,” said Clive Stafford Smith, a quality rights lawyer who has been visiting him astatine the situation since 2005. “Because helium was the oldest idiosyncratic there, I perpetually feared helium would person his 4th bosom onslaught and dice there. So I americium truthful blessed that helium is yet going home.”

He had agelong suffered from diabetes, coronary artery illness and precocious humor pressure, but would not person bosom country astatine Guantánamo, which sends residents to the United States for cardiac treatment.

In his aboriginal years of custody, the situation airlifted a mobile cardiac catheterization laboratory to the basal for the procedure, but helium said done lawyers that helium wanted to person the cognition successful a infirmary that specialized successful bosom attraction successful either the United States oregon Pakistan.

In April 2019, a photograph of him speechmaking wrong a communal compartment appeared with an nonfiction successful The New York Times astir a U.S. subject effort to accommodate detention facilities for wartime prisoners who were expected to dice astatine Guantánamo.

In his file, U.S. quality agencies said helium had helped Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, “facilitate fiscal transactions and propaganda” aft the attacks, and said helium met with Osama bin Laden successful Afghanistan earlier the attacks arsenic portion of a delegation of Pakistani dignitaries.

Months earlier helium was captured, national agents took Mr. Paracha’s eldest son, Uzair, into custody successful New York, wherever helium was living. He was tried, convicted and sentenced to 30 years successful situation for providing worldly enactment to terrorism.

But Uzair Paracha’s condemnation was overturned successful 2018. Then successful 2020, prosecutors dropped the lawsuit against him. He was returned to Pakistan aft agreeing to relinquish his presumption arsenic a imperishable nonmigratory of the United States.

The elder Mr. Paracha, who is fluent successful English, had lived successful Queens successful the 1970s, obtained a greenish paper successful 1980, and operated businesses successful Pakistan and the New York metropolitan region, including question agencies, a existent property concern and a media accumulation firm.

At Guantánamo, inmates and immoderate guards called him “chacha,” a word of endearment that means uncle successful Urdu. When the situation enactment allowed, helium tutored younger prisoners successful English and finance. At times helium brought cellblock complaints to the guards.

Soon aft his transportation to Guantánamo successful 2004, Mr. Paracha went earlier a sheet of American subject officers that approved his presumption arsenic an “enemy combatant,” a signifier of warfare prisoner. He denied having ties to Al Qaeda, described himself arsenic a businessman with a Jewish spouse and challenged the conception that the United States could state the satellite a battlefield against the violent group.

“Is your enforcement bid applicable astir the earth?” helium asked the U.S. subject serviceman successful charge, according to a Pentagon transcript.

“It is simply a planetary warfare connected terrorism,” the serviceman explained.

Mr. Paracha replied, “I know, sir, but you are not the maestro of the earth, sir.”

His wife, whom helium met and joined successful the United States, divorced him portion helium was successful custody. He was expected to unrecorded with his youngest son, Mustafa, who said successful an interrogation past twelvemonth that the archetypal bid of concern would beryllium a household reunion, followed by broad aesculapian care.

Salman Masood contributed reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan.