U.K. resident to be released from Guantanamo

The United States has agreed to transfer British resident Binyam Mohamed, held at Guantanamo Bay since 2004, back to Britain.

Mohamed, 31, who has been on a hunger strike for more than a month to protest his detention at the U.S. military base in Cuba, was arrested in Pakistan in 2002.

Britain's Foreign Office said Friday that Mohamed would be returned to the U.K. "as soon as the practical arrangements can be made," but added that does not mean he can stay in the country indefinitely.

Mohamed has alleged that before his transfer at Guantanamo Bay, he was flown by the United States from Pakistan to Morocco, where he claims he was tortured.

Mohamed was born in Ethiopia and moved to Britain at age 16, where he was granted residency.

He later converted to Islam and travelled to Pakistan and Afghanistan, where U.S. officials allege he fought alongside Taliban forces and later attended al-Qaeda training camps.

Mohamed was also accused of plotting al-Qaeda attacks in the United States, but war crimes charges against him were dropped at Guantanamo last year.

Allegations of possible involvement by 2 Canadians

During his time in Morocco, Mohamed said he was beaten and cut with razor blades, including hundreds of times on his genitals.

He has also alleged that two Canadians might have been involved in the torture.

Mohamed's lawyer said that in his client's diary, he wrote that after he refused to speak with Americans, a third-party intermediary, who called herself "Sarah, the Canadian," was brought in. 

Mohamed alleged the she said that if he didn't talk to her, the Americans were going to "electrocute you, beat you and rape you."

He also claimed he was later interrogated for about an hour by another woman who spoke French and said she was a Canadian.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has said it had no knowledge of the allegations.

Mohamed's lawyers allege that Britain's intelligence service had evidence that he was being mistreated, but British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has insisted that U.K. always acted lawfully, telling reporters last week there had been "no coverup whatsoever" in the case.