Terror charges dropped against former Guantanamo prisoner

British prosecutors have dropped seven terrorism-related charges against former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Moazzam Begg on Wednesday, just days before his Oct. 6 trial.

Begg was accused of attending a terrorist training camp in Syria between Oct. 9, 2012 and April 9, 2013, possessing a document likely to be of use to a terrorist, and facilitating terrorism, according to the BBC. He pleaded not guilty.

The charges against Begg were dropped after the Crown Prosecution Service said it had insufficient evidence to prosecute him.

Assistant chief constable Marcus Beale said, “New material has recently been disclosed to police and CPS, which has a significant impact on key pieces of evidence that underpinned the prosecution’s case.”

Following his release, Begg told reporters that he was happy with the outcome and that it was “important to point out some of the government’s failures in its foreign policy and its internal policy.”

In a statement released by Asim Qureshi, research director of Cage, a London-based organization that advocates for the fair treatment of individuals affected by the “war on terror” said that it “has been a testing time for Moazzam, his family and the Muslim community.”

Prior to his arrest, Begg served as the director of outreach for the organization.

In 2002, Begg was arrested in Pakistan as a suspected al-Qaida member and was subsequently held at the U.S. air base in Bagram, Afghanistan. He later was transferred to Guantanamo Bay, where he was behind bars for nearly three years. Begg was returned to Britain but did not face prosecution.

Begg was arrested earlier this year along with three others and has been in prison since March.