Sami al-Haj

Sami al-Haj is a journalist, but one unlike any other. For over six years, since December 15, 2001, when he was seized by Pakistani soldiers on the Afghan border, while on assignment as a cameraman for the Qatar-based broadcaster al-Jazeera, he has been in a disturbing but unique position: a trained journalist held as an [...]

Today, Reprieve, the charity that provides frontline investigation and legal representation for prisoners in Guantánamo Bay, released the first of four pictures based on censored drawings made by imprisoned al-Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Haj. The first of Lewis Peake’s four pictures based on drawings by Sami al-Haj, which were censored by the US military. The pictures [...]

In an act of political censorship, the management of the Oracle shopping centre in Reading has demanded that the Lush cosmetics store remove material in its storefront calling for prisoners held without charge in Guantánamo Bay to receive a fair trial. The Oracle requested that posters featuring Guantánamo prisoners Sami al-Haj and Binyam Mohamed — [...]

In a report that I long to have confirmed by other sources, Gulf Times declares that Robert Ménard, the secretary general of Reporters Sans Frontières (Reporters Without Borders), has stated that al-Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Haj “is expected to be freed soon,” even though Ménard, who visited Guantánamo a few weeks ago, also stated, “I had [...]

From Sudan, Reuters reports on a conference held in the capital, Khartoum, to demand the release of seven Sudanese detainees still held in Guantánamo. Organized by local human rights groups, the conference’s speakers included the wife of Al-Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Haj, who is still held in the much-criticized prison, and several released Sudanese detainees, who [...]

Today, the Associated Press reports on a letter from Guantánamo written by al-Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Haj. The letter is dated December 27, 2007, and has just been declassified by the Pentagon’s censors. It was translated from the Arabic by his lawyers at the London-based legal charity Reprieve, which represents dozens of the Guantánamo detainees. Mr. [...]

In the Los Angeles Times, Clive Stafford Smith, the legal director of the London-based legal charity Reprieve, which represents dozens of Guantánamo detainees, recently filed a report from the “Combined Bachelors’ Quarters” at Guantánamo, where visiting lawyers are housed. He had been visiting some of his clients, although, as he explained, “I can’t tell you [...]

In a report from Guantánamo in the Press Gazette, Clive Stafford Smith, the legal director of London-based legal charity Reprieve, files a report on a recent visit, based on the sections of his notes that have been declassified by the US military. Like every other lawyer with clients in Guantánamo, Stafford Smith cannot report a [...]