Held for six years....released...no charges.

[Donkey®]

Al-Jazeera cameraman held six years at Gitmo is home - CNN.com

Originally Posted by article

Al-Jazeera cameraman held six years at Gitmo is home

(CNN) -- Al-Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Hajj arrived home in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum early Friday after nearly six years in the U.S. Navy prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"I've been dreaming of this moment for the past seven years," he said in an interview with the Qatar-based Arabic news network.

Al-Hajj, a Sudanese citizen in his late 30s, was captured in Afghanistan in June 2002 by Pakistani intelligence officers and handed over to the United States, which accused him of being an "enemy combatant."

A senior Pentagon official confirmed the journalist's release.

Al-Hajj was held without being charged or given a trial, al-Jazeera reported.

The cameraman was on a legitimate assignment and carried a work visa at the time of his capture, the network said.

It also reported that the U.S. plane that carried al-Hajj had about 20 other former detainees aboard who also had been released from Guantanamo Bay. The plane dropped off a Moroccan national, identified as Al-Saeed Bou Jaadiya, the network said.

Al-Jazeera aired video showing a bearded al-Hajj being carried from the plane in Khartoum by U.S. military personnel and laid on a stretcher. He was transported to Al-Amal Hospital.

He had been on a hunger strike for more than a year and was being force-fed, said Zachary Katznelson, a lawyer who has worked on al-Hajj's case since August 2005 and last visited him three weeks ago.

"Al-Hajj is remarkably thin," Katznelson said. "He looks like an ill man."

The journalist was conscious, but did not appear to speak to anyone as paramedics rolled his stretcher inside. Family members stooped to kiss him as the gurney passed.

"I would have hoped they were here with me now. I look forward to the moment," al-Hajj said told al-Jazeera before being reunited with his family.

Earlier, al-Hajj's wife spoke to the network about his release.

"Now I can think differently," Asma Ismailov said. "Now I can plan my life differently. Everything will be all right, God willing."

Al-Hajj's young son, Mohammed, said he would "kiss his head" when he sees his father. "I'll tell him that I love him and I need him."

The Sudanese government told Al-Jazeera that al-Hajj faced no charges in Sudan and is a free man. The network also said the United States placed some conditions on Al-Hajj's release, including one that prevents him from any political activity.

Reporters Without Borders, which campaigned for al-Hajj's release, said in a statement that the cameraman "never should have been held so long."

"U.S. authorities never proved that he had been involved in any kind of criminal activity," the worldwide press freedom group said.

The organization said al-Hajj was accused of gun-smuggling for al Qaeda and running an Islamist Web site, although no evidence supporting those charges was produced.

"We are delighted that Sami al-Hajj can finally be reunited with his family and friends," said Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. "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."

Higher moral ground very evident.

[thewise1]

Yes, but our foreign policy doesn't create terrorists, they just hate us for our freedom

[6SpeedTA95]

Originally Posted by thewise1

Yes, but our foreign policy doesn't create terrorists, they just hate us for our freedom

[Galactic Gigolo]

This is sickening. Thank Christ the U.S. government is protecting our freedoms by giving justifications to people who want to attack troops.

[motivez]

I really just fail to comprehend how anyone can support Guantanamo or our current policies.. it's ridiculous and goes against everything the country is supposed to stand for

Once we started offering LARGE cash rewards for terrorists, people looking to profit, settle old grudges, etc, were coming to us and telling us x and y were terrorists, and without anything other than their word, we've picked those people up, shipped them to black sites, to Guantanamo, tortured them, refused them access to a legal system that would allow them to challenge their detention, etc..

It's just disgusting, I'm really ashamed of the United States when I read stuff like this.

It shouldn't be any wonder we have people who want to blow us up when we do shit like this.. I guarantee that if anyone on this site was treated like these people have been, they'd want to blow shit up too

[DosEquis]

disgusting. i dont even know what to say beyond that. what is more disturbing is there are a good percentage of americans who see nothing wrong with this.

[Kytro]

Some people will continue to support any and all tactics an authority wishes to use as long as they are left unscathed. It makes them feel "safer"