The Belize government says the United States will meet the initial resettlement expenses of a 42-year-old Pakistani man, who arrived on Thursday after spending 20 years locked up in a military prison at the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba on terrorism charges.
Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Courtenay, said Majid Khan is being given a second chance at starting his life over after years of abuse and torture while in detention.
Khan arrived in Belize as a free man and the initial expenses regarding his resettlement are being covered by the United States government.
“The United States government formally requested the government of Belize to consider resettling Mr. Khan in Belize as a humanitarian act. After extended negotiations with the US government and careful analysis, the Cabinet of Belize approved Mr. Khan’s resettlement in Belize at the cost of the United States government,” Courtenay said.
“Mr. Khan is not in Belize as a detainee. He has served his sentence and is a free man. Mr. Khan is not a terrorist, he has fully recanted, accepted responsibility for his action and asked Allah for forgiveness and he has been de-radicalized.,” he added.
Courtenay said Khan will, therefore, be free to travel throughout the country, to study, to work, to start a business and make the most of the rest of his life after 20 years in detention.
“The United States government is providing all the funds to cover Mr. Khan’s integration into Belizean society, including housing and initial living expenses. The Government of Belize considers Mr. Khan’s resettlement as a humanitarian act.
“Though Khan may have contributed to acts of terrorism, he was brutally abused and tortured. He has repudiated his radicalism, cooperated with US authorities in the fight against terrorism and has served his time,” Courtenay added.
Courtenay, US Ambassador Michelle Kwan and a representative of the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs participated in a news conference on the decision to have Khan resettled in Belize.
Courtenay reiterated that Khan is not a threat to the security of Belize.
Khan, who was born in Medina, Saudi Arabia in February 1980, grew up in Pakistan until 1996, when he relocated to Baltimore, Maryland along with his family. He was captured by CIA agents in Karachi, Pakistan, several years later.
Courtenay said Khan was involved in certain terrorist activities between 2002 and 2003 and was captured in March 2003 in Pakistan and has been in custody since then.
CMC/
