A prisoner at Guantanamo Bay has been held for 13 years in what is said to be a case of mistaken identity, officials have said.
Mustafa al-Aziz al-Shamiri, from Yemen, was detained and taken to Guantanamo in Cuba on the grounds that he was an al-Qaeda courier and trainer.
Following an assessment by a U.S. panel on whether al-Shamiri should be released, officials conceded that he was not, in fact, a senior al-Qaeda militant but a low-level Islamist fighter. The confusion, the report said, stemmed from similarities in the name of al-Shamiri and the man whose crimes he was alleged to have committed.
‘Mustafa Abd-al-Qawi Abd-al-Aziz al-Shamiri (YM-434) fought in several jihadist theaters and associated with al-Qaeda members in Afghanistan,’ the Department of Defense’s detainee profile read.
Al-Shamiri’s representative called him ‘cooperative and enthusiastic’ and displaying a ‘consistent positive attitude towards life after Gitmo.’
They added that al-Shamiri wishes to get an education and start a family.
‘Mustafa will show you today that he is not a continuing significant threat to the United States of America,’ the representative said.
‘During the last feast, Mustafa generously took the time to prepare over 30 plates of pastries for his fellow detainees. When I asked him why he would make pastries for his fellow detainees, he said it’s because it makes him feel like he can give back and share with people.’
Read More: Man held at Guantánamo for 13 years a case of mistaken identity, say officials
