Five years on from his release from the controversial US detention camp, Hackney resident Tarek Dergoul speaks to Oliver Shah about coming to terms with his traumatic experiences and struggling for recognition from the state.

In a quiet street behind Whitechapel tube station, the Maedah Grill serves up spicy lamb kebabs and deep fried squid.

Like any other Turkish restaurant in London it buzzes with the chatter of city types, cash-strapped students and hungry locals. Once every six months, though, it hosts a more extraordinary party.

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The Government must avoid giving ammunition to Islamist propagandists by guaranteeing British ex-detainees get the same basic benefits as the rest of us

THE STORY of Guantánamo Bay is familiar for many of us, but the fate of the prison’s inmates after they leave and attempt to integrate into society is one we pay less attention to.

This should not be the case in a compassionate democracy, but the issue has become all the more pressing now President Barack Obama has broken with the policies of his predecessor by pledging to close the camp within a year.

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