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[[File:Sami Al-Hajj 2008.jpg|250px]]
Al-Hajj in Doha after his release, 2008.

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Sami Mohy El Din Muhammed Al Hajj (Arabic: سامي محي الدين محمد الحاج‎), aka Sami Al-Haj (Khartoum, Sudan, February 15, 1969) is a Sudanese journalist for the Al Jazeera network. In 2001, while on his way to do camera work for the network in Afghanistan, he was arrested by the Pakistani army[1] and held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camp in Cuba for over six years.[2] He was released without charge on May 1, 2008 with two other detainees from Sudan. He plans to launch legal action against George W. Bush.[3]

Background[]

Al Hajj was arrested in Pakistan on December 15, 2001.[4] He was on his way to work in Afghanistan as a cameraman for Al Jazeera and had a legitimate visa. He was held as an "enemy combatant" at the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, with Guantanamo Internment Serial Number 345, and was the only journalist to be held in Guantanamo. He began a hunger strike on January 7, 2007 during which he lost over 55 pounds.[9]

A special report by BBC Radio 4 gave an exclusive glimpse of the world inside Guantanamo Bay detention centre, told through the letters of al-Hajj.[5]

British human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith represented Al Hajj, and was able to visit him in 2005. According to Smith, Al Hajj reported:

  • He had been beaten. Smith said he had a huge scar on his face.
  • He witnessed guards flushing a Qur'an down a toilet.
  • He witnessed guards defacing a Qur'an with swear words.
  • He has been sexually assaulted.
  • He has been interrogated roughly 130 times.

On 23 November 2005, Stafford-Smith reported that, during (125 of 130) interviews, US officials had questioned Sami as to whether Al Jazeera was a front for al-Qaeda.[6]

Smith offered the opinion:

"He is completely innocent. He is about as much of a terrorist as my granddad. The only reason he has been treated like he has is because he is an Al Jazeera journalist. The Americans have tried to make him an informant with the goal of getting him to say that Al Jazeera is linked to Al Qaida."

Al Jazeera has responded that Al Hajj reported his passport stolen in Sudan in 1999, and that anything done with the passport after that date was likely the work of identity thieves.

During Sami al-Hajj's time in captivity Reporters Without Borders repeatedly expressed concern over his detention, mentioning Al Hajj in its annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index, and launched a petition for his release.[1][7][8][9][10] Al Hajj went on hunger strike in January 2007 [11] along with a few other inmates in protest of their treatment in Guantanamo.[12] In response to the hunger strike, Al Hajj (and the other inmates) had been force-fed during their captivity.[13] Al Hajj's hunger strike lasted 438 days until he was set free on 1 May 2008.[14]

Combatant Status Review Tribunal[]

Initially the George W. Bush administration asserted that they could withhold all the protections of the Geneva Conventions to captives from the "War on Terror". This policy was challenged before the courts. Critics argued that the USA could not evade its obligation to conduct competent tribunals to determine whether captives are, or are not, entitled to the protections of prisoner of war status.

Subsequently the United States Department of Defense (USDoD) instituted the Combatant Status Review Tribunals. The Tribunals, however, were not authorized to determine whether the captives were lawful combatants -- rather they were merely empowered to make a recommendation as to whether the captive had previously been correctly determined to match the Bush administration's definition of an enemy combatant.

Although Clive Stafford Smith quotes from Al Hajj's Combatant Status Review Tribunal it does not seem to be present in the transcripts the USDoD released on March 3, 2006.

Allegations[]

Stafford-Smith summarized the allegations from Al Hajj's Combatant Status Review Tribunal:[15]

"...that he had allegedly run a website that supported terrorism, that he had trafficked in arms, that he entered Afghanistan illegally in October 2001 while US air strikes were under way, and that he interviewed Osama bin Laden."

A biography of Al Hajj, by one of his Al Jazeera colleagues, paraphrases five allegations from his CSRT:[16]

  • "The US says that Sami travelled to the middle East, the Balkans, and the Caucasus for clandestine purposes.
  • "The US says that Sami has an internet site that supports terrorists.
  • "The US says that Sami is a businessman who sold Stinger missiles to Chechen rebels.
  • "The US says that Sami was caught sneaking into Afghanistan.
  • "The US says Sami interviewed OBL."

Ahmad Ibrahim, Al Hajj's colleague who wrote the biography, says all these allegations are false.

A Summary of Evidence memo apparently drafted on October 22, 2004, for Sami Al Hajj's Combatant Status Review Tribunal was released to the public in September 2007.[17] It states:

The detainee is associated with al Qaida or the Taliban:

1. During the period 1996-2001, the detainee traveled extensively throughout the Middle East, Balkans, and the former USSR, arriving in Afghanistan in October 2001.
2. The detainee admitted to transporting large amounts of cash from the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) to Azerbaijan on multiple occasions from 1996-2000.
3. From 1997 through 2000, the detainee was responsible for financial and material aid for Chechen armed groups and foreign mercenaries operating in the Northern Caucausus.
4. The detainee provided assistance, obtaining travel/immigration documents, for an Iraqi businessman moving to the U.A.E.
5. The above Iraqi businessman is reportedly close to Osama Bin Laden.
6. Prior to 11 September 2001, the detainee arranged for the transport of a Stinger anti-aircraft system from Afghanistan to Chechnya.
7. Since 2000, the detainee has engaged in distributing terrorist propaganda over the internet.
8. While attempting to re-enter Afghanistan in December 2001, the detainee was apprehended by Pakistani authorities for inconsistencies with his travel documents.


Administrative Review Board[]

Detainees whose Combatant Status Review Tribunal labeled them "enemy combatants" were scheduled for annual Administrative Review Board hearings. These hearings were designed to assess the threat a detainee may pose if released or transferred, and whether there are other factors that warrant his continued detention.[18]

First annual Administrative Review Board hearing[]

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for his first annual Administrative Review Board.[19]

The following primary factors favor continued detention

a. Commitment
  1. The detainee worked as an executive secretary for Abdul Al-Latif Al-Imran, general manager for the Union Beverage Company (UBC).
  2. The Union Beverage Company has been associated with Bosnian/Chechen mujahid.
  3. The detainee traveled to Azerbaijan at least eight times to courier money to the Al-Haramayn non-governmental organization (NGO) on behalf of his boss, Abd Al-Latif Omran.
  4. Al-Haramayn has been designated under Executive Order 13224 as an organization that has provided support to terrorist organizations.
  5. During the winter of 1997, the detainee delivered $7,000 USD to Al-Haramayn.
  6. During the winter of 1998, the detainee delivered $13,000 USD to Al-Haramayn.
  7. During the summer of 1999, the detainee visited Al-Haramayn's summer camp, and delivered $13,000 USD to Al-Haramayn.
  8. During November 1999, the detainee delivered $12,000 USD to Munir Al-Barguoni for a new factory in Azerbaijan; he also delivered $100,000 USD to Jamal, the Director of Al-Haramayn.
  9. The detainee was detained in Azerbaijan for the transport of $220,000 USD. The money was destined for Chechen rebels and not for humanitarian support as the detainee was told.
  10. After serving as the Al-Haramayn Director in Baku, Azerbaijan from 1997 to January 2000, Jiman Mohammed Alawi Al Muraai, aka Abu Wafa, took a job operating the Wafa offices in Karachi, Pakistan.
  11. Al Wafa has been designated under Executive Order 13224 as an organization that has provided support to terrorist organizations.
  12. While working at the Union Beverage Company, the detainee met Mamdouh Mahmoud Salem.
  13. Mamdouh Mahmoud Salem Abu Hajir was arrested in Germany in September 1998 and extradited to the United States. He was a senior al Qaeda lieutenant and Bin Laden's deputy in Sudan.
  14. The detainee founded a company on 20 May 1999 in Azerbaijan named “SAMICO Services.”
  15. SAMICO documents were found during a raid of locations occupied by suspected extremists affiliated with Muhammad Rabi’a Abdul Halim Sha’ib (an Egyptian extremist).
  16. To register a company in Azerbaijan, authorities required that a registree have a registered business in another country.
  17. Because the detainee did not have a registered company elsewhere, he used falsified documents to register his company. According to the detainee, the falsified documents showed him as a co-owner of Rumat International.
  18. According to a Foreign Government Service, the detainee and Mamduh Muhammad Salim Ahmad, aka Abu Mu’izz, are both affiliated with Rumat International. Ahmed was subsequently arrested on suspicion of participating in the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
  19. While in Azerbaijan, the detainee came into contact with Ashraf, who ran the juice distribution business for the Union Beverage Company in Azerbaijan.
  20. Between 1994-1998, Ashraf Abdulrahim Ayub worked for the Kuwaiti Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS), a non-governmental organization.
  21. The Revival of Islamic Heritage Society has been identified under Executive Order 13224 as a terrorist affiliated organization.
  22. As of late March 2003, a foreign government was investigating Ashraf for possible ties to terrorism.
  23. On 4 January 2000, the detainee attempted to reenter Azerbaijan, but was detained and then deported from the country. The deportation was due to his alleged activities supporting Chechen rebels.
b. Other Relevant Data
  1. In March or April 2000, the detainee left the Union Beverage Company and went to work for Al Jazeera in Doha, Qatar.
  2. The detainee was hired to go to Chechnya to do a story.
  3. Around this time, the detainee met with the former President of Chechnya, who was exiled in Doha, Qatar, on at least 15 occasions to learn about Chechnya and to solicit help in gaining access to Chechnya.
  4. Following the September 11th attack, the detainee was told by Al-Jazeera to forget Chechnya and go to Afghanistan.
  5. The detainee interviewed several Taliban officials during his stay in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
  6. The detainee interviewed a man who identified himself as Abu Hafa Al Moritani, a member of al Qaeda.
  7. Abu Hafa was one of Usama bin Laden's personal advisors and a religious recruiter. He was also the leader of the Mauritanian al Qaeda cell.
  8. The detainee was stopped in early December 2001 at the border by Pakistani security. According to Pakistan security, the passport the detainee had in his possession did not agree with Pakistani records.
  9. The detainee was detained at the Afghanistan/Pakistan border because his name appeared on a border authority watch list.


The following primary factors favor release or transfer

a. The detainee claims never to have traveled to Great Britain.
b. The detainee denies knowing how Chechen fighters obtained their finances.
c. Detainee has no recorded major discipline acts or violent behavior. Detainee has refused to obey guards on occasion by not following instructions. Detainee has consistently led prayer in the cell blocks and has been seen teaching English and Koran to other detainees.
d. The detainee states he wants to return to his family and resume his position as a father and provider. The detainee noted he would exercise caution in future assignments with Al Jazeera. The detainee hopes to return to Doha, Qata, with his family. He states that he harbors no ill feelings against the United States.
e. The detainee denies any knowledge that his former boss at the Union Beverage Company, Al-Latif, was involved with any al Qaeda operations.
f. The detainee denies any knowledge of al Qaeda operations in Chechnya.
g. The detainee denies any involvement or membership in any Islamic extremist organization, to include the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council of Shura.


Transcript[]

Al Hajj chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.[20]

Second annual Administrative Review Board hearing[]

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for his second annual Administrative Review Board on 4 September 2006.[21]

The following primary factors favor continued detention

a. Commitment

1. The detainee stated he applied for a visa to come to the United States through the visa lottery program in 1993, 1996 and 1998. The detainee wanted to come to the United States to work in journalism. Once the detainee was hired by Al Jazeera, the detainee stopped his attempts to travel to the United States to pursue a career in journalism.
2. The detainee stated that he found the job at Union Beverage Company through an advertisement in the newspaper. The detainee was hired for a three month probationary period as an executive secretary.
3. The detainee founded a company in Azerbaijan named Samico Services. The company was registered with the Azerbaijan government on 20 May 1999 with the stated purpose of producing, stockpiling and selling goods for national consumption as well as tourism and other activities.
4. The detainee stated that in order to register a new company, the authorities required a passport stating the registree was a businessman. The authorities also required that that the registree has registered business [sic] in another country. Because the detainee did not have a business, he used another business' registration documents. The detainee additionally falsified the documents to show himself as a co-owner and show his passport to read businessman vice accountant.
5. The detainee stated that he delivered 120,000 United States Dollars to a business partner for a flour factory and 100,000 United States Dollars to the director of Al Haramayn. The business partner was responsible for obtaining the proper registration for the flour factory form Azerbaijan authorities, so the 120,000 United States Dollars was supposed to get the land and the machines for the factory.
6. The detainee stated that he was arrested in Azerbaijan for the transport of 220,000 United States Dollars for what he was told was a humanitarian mission which was instead destined for Chechen rebels.
7. The detainee stated he had twenty-two 10,000 United States Dollar bills carried by his wife under her belly.
8. The detainee stated that in March or April 2000, he left the Union Beverage Company and went to work for Al Jazeera Media in Doha, Qatar.
9. The detainee stated that he was hired at Al Jazeera because he agreed to go to Chechnya to do a story.
10. The detainee stated that on 11 October 2001, he flew from Doha, Qatar to Quetta, Pakistan. On or about 13 October 2001, the detainee received a visa from the Afghanistan Embassy to enter their country. On or about 16 or 17 October 2001, the detainee and a co-worker went to Kandahar, Afghanistan.
11. The detainee stated that in early December 2001, while attempting to return to Afghanistan, he was stopped at the border by Pakistani security at Chaman, Pakistan and was unable to obtain exit visas. The detainee was told that Pakistani security received a facsimile that questioned his travel documents. The detainee stated according to Pakistan security, the passport he had in his possession did not agree with the Pakistan records.

b. Connections/Associations

1. The detainee stated that while he was working at Union Beverage Company, he interacted with the individual in charge of distribution of juice in Azerbaijan.
2. In March 2003, the individual who was in charge of juice distribution in Azerbaijan was under investigation for possible ties to terrorism.
3. The Union Beverage Company has been associated with known Bosnian and Chechen Mujahed.
4. The detainee stated he interacted with an individual who he heard was arrested in Germany in September 1998 and subsequently extradited to the United States.
5. The detainee stated that he stayed in Kandahar, Afghanistan for 29 days. While there, the detainee and a co-worker interviewed the Treasury Minister of the Taliban, the Minister of Electricity, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
6. The detainee stated he interviewed a man who identified himself as a member of the al Qaida.


The following primary factors favor release or transfer

a. The detainee denied any involvement or membership in any Islamic extremist organization, including the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council of Shura. The detainee denies any knowledge of al Qaida operations in Chechnya. The detainee denies any knowledge that his former boss at the Union Beverage Company was involved with any al Qaida operations.
b. The detainee stated that he had no spiritual or financial bond with his employer. The detainee added that he thought of his job with Union Beverage as being a simple, non-significant position.
c. The detainee stated he wants to return to his family and resume his position as a father and provider. The detainee noted that he would exercise caution in future assignments with Al-Jazeera. The detainee hopes to return to Doha, Qatar, with his family. The detainee stated that he harbors no ill feelings against the United States.


Transcript[]

There is no record that Sami Al Hajj chose to participate in his second annual Administrative Review Board hearing.

Allegations[]

Stafford-Smith summarized the allegations from Al Hajj's Combatant Status Review Tribunal: Call for Sami Al-Haj's release from Guantanamo after lawyer provides new information, reporters without borders, April 19, 2006

  • ^ Sami Al-Hajj: Case Study in War on Terror ‘Justice’, cageprisoners
  • ^ Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Sami Mohy El Din Muhammed Al Hajj's Administrative Review Board hearing - page 121
  • ^ a b c d e f Al-Jazeera Cameraman Still at Guantanamo [10] Ben Fox, Alfred de Montesquiou February 23, 2007
  • ^ a b Call for Sami Al-Haj's release from Guantanamo after lawyer provides new information, reporters without borders, April 19, 2006
  • ^ "Imprisoned Al-Jazeera cameraman allegedly on hunger strike; health deteriorating". International Freedom of Expression eXchange. March 1, 2007. http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/81448. Retrieved March 7, 2007. 
  • ^ Calls for release of Gitmo cameraman [11] April 18, 2007
  • Subsequent Administrative Review Boards[]

    The Associated Press reported, on February 23, 2007, that Al Hajj's continued detention was recently reviewed by a subsequent Administrative Review Board.[22] He learned that he was not one of the eighty captives who that round of Administrative Review Boards had recommended for release or transfer.

    According to the Associated Press: "His colleagues at Al Jazeera claim his detention is American harassment of an Arabic TV network whose coverage has long angered U.S. officials."[22]

    The AP article quoted the comments of Lamis Andoni, an Al-Jazeera Middle East analyst, about the November 2001 and April 2003 bombings of Al-Jazeera's offices: "When you are targeted once, it could be a mistake, But when you are bombed twice, it's something else."[22]

    AP reported that the director of the Joint Intelligence Group, Paul Rester, claimed: "I consider the information that we obtained from him to be useful" — AP noted that Rester declined to offer any substantiation for this claim.[22]

    The AP article describes the Union Beverage Company as a Qatar-based company, not an Indiana-based company. [Company is actually based in Illinois.] [22] It described Al Haramain as a "defunct charity", without saying that it had been shut down due to American suspicions that it had been subverted, from within, to support terrorism.[citation needed]

    During his first Administrative Review Board hearing Sami said he was going to decline to reply to the factors, on legal advice. The article quoted Sami's lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, addressing some of the factors:[22]

    • Smith said Sami was not a clandestine financial courier. But: "...he and his wife once carried $220,000 from Qatar to Azerbaijan for his boss at the beverage company - and that he even declared the cash to customs.
    • Smith acknowledged Sami met Mamdouh Mahmud Salim: "while working for the beverage company, met Salim only once, when he was sent to pick him up at the airport in Qatar in 1998. During the drive, the two discussed schools and housing."

    Health[]

    According to Reporters Without Borders, al-Hajj has throat cancer and the camp authorities are withholding medical treatment.[15] Smith reports that al-Hajj recently talked of taking his own life.

    According to Reporters without Borders:[15]

    “Aside from the fact that Guantanamo Bay is a legal and humanitarian scandal, the Americans seem to be holding Al-Haj simply because they have it in for Al-Jazeera. How else can you explain the fact that he has been held for four years without being charged while other journalists have been cleared and released in no time at all ?”

    The web-site http://prisoner345.net/sami-haj reports that Sami had throat cancer in 1998, which went into remission.[13] He had been prescribed anti-cancer drugs, which he was supposed to take every day, for the rest of his life. The site reports that Sami's anti-cancer drugs have been withheld from him. The site also reports that guards shattered Sami's knee, that his injury also requires medical treatment, and that medical treatment for this injury was also being withheld.

    On August 22, 2007, Clive Stafford Smith told Reporters without Borders that he had found al-Hajj's health had seriously deteriorated since his last visit.[23] He said that al-Hajj looked more frail, and visibly had trouble concentrating.

    On September 10, 2007 Clive Stafford Smith reported that al Hajj had been on a his current hunger strike since January 7, 2007.[24] He reported that Al Hajj was focuessed on the worry that he would be the next captive to die. He also reported that Al Hajj was losing his ability to speak English.

    On September 11, 2007, Al-Jazeera reported that al-Hajj was suffering from depression and was losing the will to live.[25]

    On October 19, 2007, the Press Gazette said al-Hajj had lost over 55 pounds since beginning his hunger strike in January. His true state of health is unknown as notes from meetings with his lawyer must be cleared by U.S. authorities, and may not reveal specifics on his health or mental state.[26]

    Main article: Guantanamo captives medical facilities

    Hunger strike[]

    Sami Al Hajj went on hunger strike on 7 January 2007. The Al Jazeera website has published his demands which include;[12]

    • The right for detainees to practice their religion freely and without duress.
    • Applying the Geneva Convention to the treatment of Guantanamo detainees.
    • Releasing a number of prisoners from isolation confinement, and in particular one Shakir Amer that has been in continued isolation since September 2005.
    • Conducting a full and fair investigation into the deaths of three prisoners who died in June 2006.
    • His release or trial by a federal US court.

    Zachary Katznelson, senior counsel of Reprieve, a London-based human rights group representing al-Haj, visited the cameraman at Guantanamo Bay on February 1. U.S. military officials declined to confirm whether al-Hajj was among the 12 currently on hunger strike.[27]

    On April 18, 2007 the Sudanese Minister of Justice, Mohammad Ali Al-Marazi, condemned the United States' detention of al Hajj.[28] Al-Marazi called Al Hajj's detention an "illegal act", which ran counter to human rights. He claimed it exposed American claims of supporting human rights as "false".

    Clive Stafford Smith's "Bad Men"[]

    On April 20, 2007 the UK newspaper, The Guardian, started publishing excerpts from Clive Stafford Smith's book, "Bad Men: Guantanamo Bay and the Secret Prisons". The April 21 issue's excerpt addressed many aspects of Al Hajj's detention.[4] According to Smith:

    "Against the background of this campaign against al-Jazeera, what I learned about Sami's ongoing interrogation in Guantanamo was disturbing. In the first 100-plus sessions, the US military never posed a question about the allegations against him, as they were only interested in turning him into an informant against al-Jazeera. He had to ask them to interrogate him about what he was supposed to have done wrong."

    Documentary[]

    Al Jazeera producer Ahmad Ibrahim produced a 50 minute documentary in 2006 on Al Hajj's case, Prisoner 345.

    August 15th Press briefing[]

    On August 15, 2007 a question was asked about Al Hajj at a Department of State briefing[29]:

    QUESTION: Does the US want to release Asim al-Haj from Guantanamo? Have you sought assurances for his release from the Sudanese government?
    ANSWER: Asim al-Haj (aka Sami el Hadj) is being detained at Guantanamo Bay as an enemy combatant in the armed conflict with al Qaida, the Taliban, and their affiliates and supporters. Consistent with the law of armed conflict, the United States is entitled to hold enemy combatants until the end of hostilities, to prevent them from returning to the battlefield.

    Mr. el Hadj has been found to be an enemy combatant by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal. Under the Detainee Treatment Act, Mr. el Hadj, like all detainees at Guantanamo, has the right to challenge that determination in U.S. federal court.

    The United States does not want to detain anyone any longer than is necessary. Mr. el Hadj's detention is reviewed at least annually by an Administrative Review Board to evaluate the need for his continued detention, including an assessment of the threat he poses to the United States and its allies. Through that process, the Deputy Secretary of Defense has so far determined that he should remain detained at Guantanamo Bay.

    We defer to Department of Defense on any additional questions about the scheduling of detainees’ Administrative Review Boards and other details about this process.

    We will not put detainees or our operations at risk by discussing the possibility of transfers or releases before they take place.

    Release negotiation and release[]

    Ali Sadiq, an official with the Sudanese Foreign Ministry, stated on August 15, 2007[30]:

    "Last month, we received a memorandum from the US administration to the effect that they are considering Al Hajj's case and will hand down a final decision this month,"

    "Based on this memo, we confirmed to the US administration in writing that Sami al-Hajj is an average Sudanese citizen with no extreme religious affiliations, he practices the religion like all other Sudanese citizens, and that in case he is released he will under no circumstances pose any threat to US security."


    Sami Al Hajj was released on May 1, 2008 from Guantanamo Bay and flown to Sudan. He arrived in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on a US military plane in the early hours of Friday, May 2. Al Jazeera showed footage of him being carried into the hospital on a stretcher, looking frail but smiling and surrounded by well-wishers.[31]

    BBC Reporter's Call for Release[]

    File:Sami al-Hajj.png

    al-Hajj at the 2008 Global Investigative Journalism Conference .

    Alan Johnston, former Gaza Correspondent for the BBC, was abducted in Gaza City by armed gunmen from the Army of Islam and held for 113 days. During this time, Sami Al Hajj made a plea to Johnston's captors to let the journalist go. Following his release, Johnston made a similar plea for the release of Hajj, being held by the United States Government in Guantanamo. His letter to Sami, quoted below, was released to the National Union of Journalists:

    "While I was kidnapped recently in the Gaza Strip fellow journalists from around the world joined the campaign mounted to try to secure my release, and of course you were among them.[...] I was particularly grateful for your contribution given your own very difficult circumstances.[...] In the light of my own experience of incarceration I am aware of how hard it must be for you and your family to endure your detention, and I very much hope that your case might be resolved soon.[...] I understand that after some five years in Guantanamo you are calling to be allowed to answer any allegations that are being made against you. And of course I would always support any prisoner's right to a fair trial."[32]

    Transliterations of Arabic name[]

    Official documents the United States Department of Defense has released gave the latinized version of Al Hajj's name as Sami Mohy El Din Muhammed Al Hajj [2][17] [19][33][34][35][36][37][38] except for one document released in September 2007.[21]

    See also[]

    References[]

    1. 1.0 1.1 "Call for Sami Al-Haj's release from Guantanamo after lawyer provides new information". April 19]] 2006. http://en.rsf.org/united-states-call-for-sami-al-haj-s-release-19-04-2006,17217.html. Retrieved March 7, 2007. 
    2. 2.0 2.1 OARDEC (May 15, 2006). "List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-29. 
    3. Al-Jazeera journalist imprisoned in Guantánamo Bay to sue George Bush: Sami al-Haj – freed in May 2008 after more than six years – to launch legal action against former US president [1] 2009-07-17
    4. 4.0 4.1 Have you received your gift pack? [2] Clive Stafford Smith April 21, 2007
    5. Letters from Guantanamo, BBC, September 27, 2006
    6. "More news is good news". New Age. November 13, 2006. http://www.newagebd.com/2006/nov/13/edit.html#2. Retrieved March 7, 2007. 
    7. "Call for Al Jazeera cameraman's release from Guantanamo on fifth anniversary of arrival of first detainees". Reporters without borders. January 10, 2007. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=17971. Retrieved March 7, 2007. 
    8. "Call for Al Jazeera cameraman's release from Guantanamo on fifth anniversary of arrival of first detainees". Reporters without borders. January 10, 2007. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=20344. Retrieved March 7, 2007. 
    9. "North Korea, Turkmenistan, Eritrea the worst violators of press freedom: France, the United States and Japan slip further Mauritania and Haiti gain much ground". Reporters without borders. http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=639. Retrieved March 7, 2007. 
    10. "Sami Al Haj petition". Reporters without borders. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=19079. Retrieved March 7, 2007. 
    11. http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/84275/
    12. 12.0 12.1 لجنة حماية الصحفيين قلقة إزاء تدهور صحة الحاج [3] March 6, 2007
    13. 13.0 13.1 "Prisoner 345". http://prisoner345.net/sami-haj. 
    14. http://www.voltairenet.org/article157846.html
    15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 Call for Sami Al-Haj's release from Guantanamo after lawyer provides new information, reporters without borders, April 19, 2006
    16. Sami Al Hajj: Case Study in War on Terror ‘Justice’, cageprisoners
    17. 17.0 17.1 OARDEC (October 22, 2004). "Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Al Hajj, Sami Mohy El Din Muhammed". United States Department of Defense. pp. 85–86. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/000300-000399.pdf#85. Retrieved 2007-10-12. 
    18. "Annual Administrative Review Boards for Enemy Combatants Held at Guantanamo Attributable to Senior Defense Officials". March 6, 2007. http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=3902. Retrieved November 12, 2010. 
    19. 19.0 19.1 OARDEC (8 July 2005). "Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Al Hajj, Sami Mohy El Din Muhammed". United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 17–20. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_1_Factors_000394-000494.pdf#17. 
    20. Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Sami Mohy El Din Muhammed Al Hajj's Administrative Review Board hearing - page 121
    21. 21.0 21.1 OARDEC (4 September 2006). "Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Sami Muheidine Mohamed Al Haj". United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 33–35. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_2_Factors_499-598.pdf#33. Retrieved 2007-10-12.  Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Arb2SummaryOfEvidenceSamiMuheidineMohamedAlHaj" defined multiple times with different content
    22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 Al-Jazeera Cameraman Still at Guantanamo [4] Ben Fox, Alfred de Montesquiou February 23, 2007
    23. "Sudanese cameraman Sami Al-Haj in critical condition in Guantanamo". Reporters without borders. August 22, 2007. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=23363. Retrieved 2007-08-23. 
    24. Sami Al-Haj: 'I am afraid I will be the next to die' [5] Clive Stafford Smith September 11, 2007
    25. Al Jazeera English - News - Al-Hajj 'Suffering From Depression'
    26. Press Gazette - Fears grow for hunger strike journalist held in Guantanamo
    27. "Imprisoned Al-Jazeera cameraman allegedly on hunger strike; health deteriorating". International Freedom of Expression eXchange. March 1, 2007. http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/81448. Retrieved March 7, 2007. 
    28. Calls for release of Gitmo cameraman [6] April 18, 2007
    29. "Question Taken at the Daily Press Briefing -- August 15, 2007: Status of Guantanamo Detainee Asim al-Haj". United States Department of State, Office of the Spokesman. August 15, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-09-11. http://web.archive.org/web/20070911234811/http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2007/aug/91137.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-18. 
    30. Al-Hajj 'nears Guantanamo release' [7] August 15, 2007
    31. Freed Guantanamo prisoner is home 2 May 2008, BBC
    32. Johnston writes open letter to Guantanamo detainee [8] The Guardian October 4, 2007
    33. OARDEC (April 20, 2006). "List of detainee who went through complete CSRT process" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/detainee_list.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-29. 
    34. OARDEC (July 17, 2007). "Index for Combatant Status Review Board unclassified summaries of evidence" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/index_CSRT_unclassified_summaries.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-29. 
    35. OARDEC (September 4, 2007). "Index for testimony" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/index_CSRT_detainees_testimony.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-29. 
    36. OARDEC (August 9, 2007). "Index to Summaries of Detention-Release Factors for ARB Round One" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/index_ARB_Round_1_Detention_Transfer_Factors.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-29. 
    37. OARDEC (August 9, 2007). "Index of Transcripts and Certain Documents from ARB Round One" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/index_ARB_Round_1_transcripts_documents.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-29. 
    38. OARDEC (July 17, 2007). "Index of Summaries of Detention-Release Factors for ARB Round Two" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/index_ARB_Round_2_Detention_Transfer_Factors.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-29. 

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    ar:سامي الحاج de:Sami Al-Haj fr:Liste de détenus de Guantánamo#Sami al-Haj no:Sami Mohy El Din Muhammed Al Hajj ru:Сами аль-Хадж fi:Sami al-Hajj

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