{"id":12439,"date":"2018-02-23T11:25:32","date_gmt":"2018-02-23T11:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reprieve.org.uk\/?post_type=update&#038;p=12439"},"modified":"2020-05-28T15:41:04","modified_gmt":"2020-05-28T15:41:04","slug":"14-years-hell-didnt-end-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reprieve.org\/uk\/2018\/02\/23\/14-years-hell-didnt-end-release\/","title":{"rendered":"A truly free man &#8211; some rare good news on Guantanamo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Younous Chekkouri was told \u201cyou\u2019re going to hell\u201d by the American guards as they forced him on to a plane to Guant\u00e1namo. He quickly learned what they meant \u2013 13 years of detention without trial, physical and psychological torture, separation from his family, hunger striking, force-feeding, and beatings.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In September 2015, Younous was released to Morocco.\u00a0But his ordeal didn\u2019t end there \u2013 on arrival he was held in prison\u00a0for almost 5 months. Although freed from prison he faced an ongoing legal battle to fully clear his name.<\/p>\n<p><strong>On\u00a014th February\u00a02018, Younous was acquitted of all charges in a Moroccan court. After 16 years, he is now truly a free man.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/reprieve.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/2016_02_12-PUB-Younous-fREE.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-7081\" src=\"https:\/\/reprieve.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/2016_02_12-PUB-Younous-fREE-300x203.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"405\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI want to thank everyone who has helped me through these hard times, my lawyers, everyone in the United States and Europe and Morocco who has stood by me and been my friend the whole time. I cannot believe I am free. I am so happy. Thank you.\u201d<br \/>\n<strong>Younous Chekkouri<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Younous was born in Morocco, but moved to Pakistan when he was 22 years old with his siblings where further education was more affordable.\u00a0A strong believer in giving back to society, he moved to Afghanistan in June 2001 where he did charity work and started a business. He fled the instability created by war, but was rounded up with other Arabs and taken to a prison in Kandahar, then\u00a0sold to US forces.<\/p>\n<p>In 2002 Younous was taken to Guant\u00e1namo. After Reprieve took up his case, six US federal agencies &#8211; including the Departments of State and Defense as well as the CIA and FBI &#8211; unanimously agreed to clear him for release in 2010.<\/p>\n<p>Our fight to close Guantanamo goes on and in the Trump era, that fight is harder than ever. But news like this is proof that justice is possible. We won&#8217;t stop until, like Younous, every innocent man in Guantanamo is returned home to their families.<\/p>\n<p><strong>To everyone who supported Younous when we represented him in Guantanamo and in the years since, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Younous is now free to spend his life with his family.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Younous Chekkouri was told \u201cyou\u2019re going to hell\u201d by the American guards as they forced him on to a plane to Guant\u00e1namo. 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