Sami al-Hajj is Free

Al-Jazeera journalist Sami al-Hajj, 38, has been freed after being detained at the U.S. military camp for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for the past six years without being charged or tried for any crime. Al-Jazeera, which followed his case closely, consistently denied that al-Hajj was guilty of working with terrorist groups like al-Qaeda.

I see no sign of the Pentagon, Justice Department, State Department or any other U.S. government department announcing or commenting on al-Hajj's detention and release since al-Jazeera reported his freedom last week. U.S. forces destroyed al-Jazeera bureaus in Kabul in 2001 and Baghdad in 2003. In the latter attack, al-Jazeera journalist Tareq Ayyoub was killed. The Bush administration must give a full accounting of why it detained al-Hajj and refused to give him due process before ultimately releasing him without charge. It would also be interesting to learn why a senior U.S. defense official anonymously told Reuters that al-Hajj was not being freed but simply transferred to Sudanese authorities while the Sudanese justice minister said al-Hajj was a free man who would not face arrest or charges. That sounds a lot like shameful character assassination of a man who has already been denied his legal rights for far too long.

Al-Hajj and press freedom groups are condemning the manner and conditions of his detention. Al-Hajj arrived in Khartoum, Sudan, aboard a U.S. military transport plane on Friday. He was taken off the flight on a stretcher and sent to a hospital, apparently suffering the effects of a 16-month hunger strike. Al-Hajj was captured by Pakistani forces on the Afghan border and later turned over to U.S. forces.

Al-Jazeera broadcast a clip of al-Hajj making strong allegations against U.S. authorities, such as that the Guantanamo inmates have been treated worse than animals. "Thank God...for being free again," he said. "Our eyes have the right to shed tears after we have spent all those years in prison. But our joy is not going to be complete until our brothers in Guantanamo Bay are freed. The situation is very bad and getting worse day after day. Some of our brothers live without clothing."

Robert Menard of Reporters Without Borders said: "Sami al-Haj should never have been held so long. U.S. authorities never proved that he had been involved in any kind of criminal activity. This case is yet another example of the injustice reigning in Guantanamo. The base should be closed as quickly as possible."

Joel Simon of the Committee to Protect Journalists said: "Sami al-Haj is the latest journalist to be freed by the U.S. military after spending years behind bars on the basis of secret evidence and without formal charge or trial. We are delighted that Sami al-Hajj can finally be reunited with his family and friends. But his detention for six years, without the most basic due process, is a grave injustice and represents a threat to all journalists working in conflict areas."

CPJ issued a statement quoting al-Hajj's lawyer Clive Stafford Smith calling the accusations against him baseless: "Stafford Smith said that al-Hajj's detention was political and that U.S. interrogators focused almost exclusively on obtaining intelligence on al-Jazeera and its staff. At one point, he said, military officials told al-Hajj that he would be released if he agreed to inform U.S. intelligence authorities about the satellite network's activities. Al-Hajj refused, he said."

CPJ spent years trying to bring al-Hajj's case to public attention, publishing a special report called The Enemy, by CPJ program coordinator Joel Campagna, in 2006. The New York Times quotes CPJ's Simon today saying, "I would have rather seen more of an outcry."

Al-Jazeera director general Wadah Khanfar said: "We are overwhelmed with joy. We are concerned about the way the Americans dealt with Sami, and we are concerned about the way they could deal with others as well. Sami will continue with Al Jazeera, he will continue as a professional person who has done great jobs during his work with Al Jazeera. We congratulate his family and all those who knew Sami and loved Sami and worked for this moment."

--By Scott MacLeod/Cairo