Cameraman Held by US for Six Years Without Charge

LibertySugar — Fri, 02 May 2008 09:00:54 -0700

Sami al-Hajj worked as a cameraman for Al Jazeera when he was arrested on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2001. He had a valid work visa and was covering the US war against the Taliban. After being arrested, his name and passport number came up on a Pakistani intelligence list, as he had reported his passport being lost in Sudan two years before.

What happened next to Sami is a complete nightmare. Al Jazeera recounted Sami's story - After being held in Afghanistan and Pakistan for five months, he was sent as an enemy combatant to Guantanamo Bay. He sat in prison for six years, as prisoner 345...without a single charge.

Sami's lawyers claim that he was brutally beaten and interrogated 130 times by the US officials. He conducted a hunger strike, lost 40 pounds, and acquired a kidney infection from lack of medical care.

International journalist and human rights organizations called for his immediate release. Finally, yesterday the US released Sami. He returned to Sudan and to his wife and seven year old son, a boy he hasn't seen since he was one year old.

Are you saddened or outraged by this story? Does this undermine America's goal of spreading democracy?

New Administration Must Confront Dilemma at Guantanamo

LibertySugar — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:30:00 -0800

At the top of the next president's to-do list surely sits confronting the challenges presented by the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. While the secretive detention center has been a poster child for the curtailment of basic rights by the US since the War on Terror began, many Guantanamo detainees present severe threats to global security.

A review of military tribunal files reveals that a good amount of the 255 detainees have significant terrorism credentials, such as connections to al Qaeda leaders, assassination experience, and training in the use of poison and disguises.

Both John McCain and Barack Obama say they will close Guantanamo Bay. Whether it stays open or closed, the new leader must find a way to avoid atrocities, such as holding journalist Sami al-Hajj for six years without a single charge at Guantanamo, while also taking seriously the concerns of intelligence agencies. Hopefully, the next administration will use all the tools of an upright criminal justice system to prosecute terrorists.

Source

TresSugar

Cameraman Held by US for Six Years Without Charge

New Administration Must Confront Dilemma at Guantanamo