Finland: Newspaper petitions to give asylum to Guantánamo prisoner
It's unclear who is rooting for Ismail more, his sisters or the HS journalist. According to Ismail's sisters, he was active in the ARS (Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia) and ICU (Islamic Courts Union). 'Moderate' is a very subjective term here. In Finland, the same people who will not be able to imagine being lock up in Guantánamo (for some reason), would probably think he's extremely radical.
Why can't he go back to his wife and children in Somalia? According to his sisters he'll be killed, since there's no functioning government. The journalist doesn't think it necessary to question this statement. And yet: Most of his family is in Somalia, and he himself was active in resistance groups, where he faced possible death at every turn.
This entire article might be wishful thinking, though. The idea that Guantánamo is set to be shut down by January 2010 is based on a promise by President Obama. A promise that right now looks like he will not keep.
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Ismail Mahmoud Muhammad was taken away in June 2007 - in handcuffs.
His life as a free man ended at Djibouti Airport on the Horn of Africa. The local police arrested Ismail. He was taken to a US naval base in Djibouti, and from there to the Guantánamo detention centre in Cuba.
He had the very bad luck to be the fifth-last of the 775 people taken to Guantánamo between 2002 and 2007.
Now Ismail is in Guantánamo for a third year running. Nobody is accusing him of anything. It is apparent that he never was part of the East African faction of al-Qaeda, as the Americans claimed when he was arrested, but he is still behind bars.
Ismail is to be released in the coming months, since Guantánamo is to be shut down by January 2010, and the United States will probably not charge him with anything. Now he needs a country that he would dare come back to.
At least in Helsinki there are people waiting for him.
(more)
Source: HS (English)
It's unclear who is rooting for Ismail more, his sisters or the HS journalist. According to Ismail's sisters, he was active in the ARS (Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia) and ICU (Islamic Courts Union). 'Moderate' is a very subjective term here. In Finland, the same people who will not be able to imagine being lock up in Guantánamo (for some reason), would probably think he's extremely radical.
Why can't he go back to his wife and children in Somalia? According to his sisters he'll be killed, since there's no functioning government. The journalist doesn't think it necessary to question this statement. And yet: Most of his family is in Somalia, and he himself was active in resistance groups, where he faced possible death at every turn.
This entire article might be wishful thinking, though. The idea that Guantánamo is set to be shut down by January 2010 is based on a promise by President Obama. A promise that right now looks like he will not keep.
-----------------
Ismail Mahmoud Muhammad was taken away in June 2007 - in handcuffs.
His life as a free man ended at Djibouti Airport on the Horn of Africa. The local police arrested Ismail. He was taken to a US naval base in Djibouti, and from there to the Guantánamo detention centre in Cuba.
He had the very bad luck to be the fifth-last of the 775 people taken to Guantánamo between 2002 and 2007.
Now Ismail is in Guantánamo for a third year running. Nobody is accusing him of anything. It is apparent that he never was part of the East African faction of al-Qaeda, as the Americans claimed when he was arrested, but he is still behind bars.
Ismail is to be released in the coming months, since Guantánamo is to be shut down by January 2010, and the United States will probably not charge him with anything. Now he needs a country that he would dare come back to.
At least in Helsinki there are people waiting for him.
(more)
Source: HS (English)
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