British detainee released from Guantanamo

LONDON, April 1 (UPI) -- Bisher al-Rawi is back in Britain after living a nearly five-year "nightmare," locked up at Guantanamo Bay suspected of having links to terrorism.

The Iraqi national, who is a resident of Britain, had been held at the detention center in Cuba in connection with a trip he made to Gambia in 2002, the BBC said Sunday. Al-Rawi consistently denied allegations that he was associated with al-Qaida through the London-based radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada.

"I am delighted to be back home in England with my family," the businessman said. "My nightmare is finally at an end."

He expressed "great sorrow" for the other nine British residents who remain in Guantanamo Bay.

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said Thursday that U.S. authorities had agreed to return Rawi to Britain.