An al-Qaeda terror suspect detained in Guantanamo Bay wants to come to Britain and "live happily ever after' in Sherwood Forest.

Former ballet dancer Ravil Mingazov has spent 14 years behind bars without charge but wants to be reunited with his ex-wife and teenage son at their home in Nottingham.

He is understood to have made his request for asylum to the Home Office.

And his dream to live like Robin Hood could soon be set to become reality after the 48 year-old was approved for release by the US authorities.

Mingazov is applying for a visa to stay in the UK with his lawyers claiming he is “no threat” and should be re-united with his family.

Despite being locked up in the US detention camp at the military prison in Cuba the Russian national has never faced a jury over his alleged terrorist links.

Ravil Mingazov has spent 14 years behind bars without charge but wants to be reunited with his ex-wife and teenage son (
Image:
Reuters)
Lawyers for Mingazov say he wants to "live happily ever after in Sherwood Forest" after his release (
Image:
Dave Porter)

But US parole board documents state that he has fought for the Taliban and attended training camps in Afghanistan.

Mingazov solicitors claim he was "in the wrong place at the wrong time" when Pakistani authorities stormed an al-Qaeda safe house in Faisalabad, Pakistan, in March 2002, and made arrests.

He was among more than 700 detainees who were sent to Guantanamo Bay before 2004. Currently 76 remain and of those, 32 have now been cleared for release.

Mingazo’s lawyer Gary Thompson, based in Washington, said: "I can think of no better country on Earth than England to receive him. It has a wonderful record of accepting ethnic minorities like Ravil.

"He was never charged, he was held for nothing. He was labelled as 'enemy combatant'. Ravil is not a threat and we, the US, can let him go.

"We have filed an asylum petition. We have got to work to convince the UK Home Office to accept and receive Ravil.

“If they say yes, then it's a plane ride, then we will fly him to England and we welcome Ravil to free soil and reunite him with his family and he lives happily ever after in Sherwood Forest."

Mingazov's defence team have filed a petition for asylum to allow him to live in Nottingham.

He was ballet dancer in a Russian military troupe and worked in passport control and catering for the Army before converting to Islam, according to official documents.

On Monday, the Periodic Review Board - the US parole board for Guantanamo set up by the Obama administration - approved his release from the U.S. base.

Despite being locked up in the US detention camp at the military prison in Cuba the Russian national has never faced a jury over his alleged terrorist links (
Image:
Reuters)

Their papers state that Mingazov is an ethnic Tatar from Russia who resigned from the Russian Army over its Government's treatment of Muslims, including not being allowed to pray or eat halal food.

After crossing the Russian border into Tajikistan without the proper documents, he left his wife and son at the border as his son became ill and needed medical care.

They later fled to Syria, before the Civil War there, but were moved to a refugee camp in Jordan, before returning to Russia. It was from there that they applied for asylum in England, and have been here since 2014.

Documents released by the Periodic Review Secretariat, part of the US Department of Defense, confirmed he is free to leave.

Papers from the Secretariat state that his former wife and other in-laws currently living in the UK under political asylum "have written numerous letters pledging to support Ravil on his release".

A detainee profile provided by the Secretariat, in which Mingazov is referred to as RS-702, says his feelings had led to him to seek out extremist groups.

He had been arrested in Faisalabad at an al-Qaeda-affiliated safehouse associated with senior facilitator Abu Zubaydah.

The profile says he "probably joined the IMU (the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan) and trained in Tajikistan until early 2001, when the group was forced to leave and collectively travelled to Afghanistan".

It adds that Mingazov "probably attended several training camps in Afghanistan where he learned to make explosives, poisons and chemical grenades".

"RS-702 has admitted to fighting with the Taliban against the Northern Alliance, but said he did not fight against Americans", it said.

A summary of final determination reads: "The Periodic Review Board, by consensus, determined that continued law of war detention of the detainee is no longer necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the security of the United States."

It adds that the board has concern for Mingazov's lack of "candor", or honesty, regarding events prior to his detention, but says risks he presents "can be adequately mitigated".

"In making this determination, the Board considered that the detainee did not express any intent to re-engage in terrorist activities", it says.

Mr Thompson said: "Ravil's son and other family members now residing in Nottingham, England would receive Ravil with open arms (assuming, we hope the United Kingdom sees fit to accept an asylum petition)."

“We are very excited about England - you all have such great welfare programmes which have placements - we would certainly jump at the chance to work in the food industry, or pretty much all kinds of things."

On Monday, the Periodic Review Board approved his release from the U.S. base and he now wants to live in the UK (
Image:
Alamy)

His colleague and fellow lawyer Kristin Davis added: "The story is a classic asylum-seeking story, but for the fact he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and changed the course of his life for the next 15 years."

Documents say Mingazov "maintains a strong disdain" for the Russian Government, and does not want to return, claiming his treatment at Guantanamo Bay had been better than in Russia.

But Russian Foreign Ministry’s Ombudsman for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law Konstantin Dolgov believes Mingazov will be returning to his homeland.

"Better late than never. But who will be responsible for years-long violations of our citizen’s rights alongside other Guantanamo prisoners?" Dolgov said.

"Certainly, we expect Mingazov to be released without any further delays." He added: "We hope he will be brought to Russia as soon as possible.”

A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: "We are aware of Mr Mingazov and are monitoring the situation and his legal status."