Last empires gulag torture tales
Guantanamo ordeal of Aljazeera cameraman
by Asim Khan & Mahfoud El Gartit
Wednesday 26 October 2005 9:06 AM GMT
Sami al-Hajj says he has suffered physical and sexual abuse
Sami Muhy al-Din al-Hajj, a Sudanese national, was arrested
by the US military while working for Aljazeera during the US
invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, and detained in Guantanamo
for four years without trial.
Aljazeera.net spoke to al-Hajj's lawyer, Clive
Stafford-Smith, regarding his case and the prospects for his
release.
He said al-Hajj had suffered extreme physical and sexual
abuse and religious persecution.
Stafford-Smith said despite the US government's denials,
Guantanamo detainees were being held in pitiful conditions.
"Guantanamo is a PR disaster. It is one of the most iconic
symbols of hypocrisy in the world. It is just incredible how
the US has squandered all the goodwill it had after the 11
September attacks," the lawyer said.
He visited clients, including al-Hajj, in Guantanamo
recently and told http://english.Aljazeera.net about notes
that the cameraman had written, which were declassified by
the US.
The notes detail how al-Hajj had been beaten and abused by
his interrogators; how he was asked to spy for the US in
exchange for citizenship and how the interrogators
threatened his family, including his five-year-old son, if
he did not comply, he said.
"The Americans have tried to make him an informant with the
goal of getting him to say that Aljazeera is linked to al-Qaida.
"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 Aljazeera
journalist," Stafford-Smith said.
"The US needs to wake up to the fact that the most effective
counter-terrorism measure is the enforcement of human rights
such as the freedom of the press, rather than attempting to
muzzle such freedoms by persecuting members of media
networks that it disagrees with," he told Aljazeera.net.
Aljazeera.net: What are the latest legal developments
regarding al-Hajj's case?
Clive Stafford-Smith: There has been no change in any
meaningful terms.
The Guantanamo cases are once again before the Court of
Appeals in Washington DC with the Bush administration once
again arguing that the prisoners have no enforceable legal
rights.
Unfortunately, the US legal system allows parties to delay
proceedings for years and years.
A client of mine who had been on death row for 31 years
recently died of old age, with his appeals still unexhausted.
Just as the Bush administration has complained about delay
in capital cases, so the Bush administration is now using
the same methods to delay a resolution of the prisoners' rights.
When was the last time you met Sami al-Hajj and how would
you describe his situation, specifically his health and morale?
Sami was most positive about his family, glad to know that
Aljazeera was looking after his wife and son and for
bringing them to Doha.
He was also very happy that the station was helping him to
tell the world about the plight of the prisoners in Guantanamo.
However, I last saw him just as he was about to re-enter the
hunger strike, and he was sombre at the idea that the US was
forcing him into a situation where -- just to assert basic
human rights -- he and many others were being forced to
place themselves in harm's way.
I am worried about what has happened to Sami since I last
saw him two months ago.
Do the charges brought against him have any legal basis?
There are technically no charges against Sami.
He has not been charged with any crime.
He has simply been accused of being an "enemy combatant" --
a ridiculously vague term that can include anyone the
Americans want to include.
There is absolutely no factual basis to this allegation, and
the way that the US makes it is simply dishonest.
For example, he is accused of being seized when he was
trying to go to Afghanistan. Of course that is true.
But what the US does not say in its charges is that he was
on assignment for Aljazeera, he had a legitimate visa to go,
and he was not doing anything wrong.
We heard a lot about torture and abuse in Guantanamo. Has
al-Hajj been affected in any way by this and if so, to what
extent?
"The US military has revealed to him that the US taps the
telephones of Aljazeera journalists (they were tapping
Sami's personal calls to his wife while he was on assignment)"
Sami has endured horrendous abuse -- sexual abuse and
religious persecution.
He suffered his worst abuse when he was seized and detained
in Afghanistan. He was beaten on various occasions, and
sexually assaulted.
He has definitely been beaten. He had a huge scar on his
face when I saw him.
He has suffered in Guantanamo as well, mostly because he was
punished when he objected to the desecration of the Quran.
Did he face any US pressure with regards to his position as
a journalist?
Sami has been interrogated roughly 130 times.
For a long time, this was exclusively aimed at trying to get
him to become an informant against Aljazeera.
The US military wants Sami to say that Aljazeera is a front
for al-Qaida, and is funded by al-Qaida.
He refuses to say this because it is not true.
The US military has revealed to him that the US taps the
telephones of Aljazeera journalists (they were tapping
Sami's personal calls to his wife while he was on assignment).
In particular, the US wants Sami to be an informant against
some of his colleagues at Aljazeera, whom they claim are
members of al-Qaida.
Sami resolutely refuses to do this, as he says it is simply
not true.
Only when he demanded that he be interrogated about the
supposed "charges" against him did the US ever ask him
questions about the vague allegations, and even then there
are some that the US has never even bothered to question him
about.
On a personal level, I have immense respect for Sami's courage.
He refuses to make up stories against his employers and
colleagues to buy his freedom, even though he is under
immense pressure to do so, and even though he is promised
the world by the US if he will turn informant.
Do you think that this is in fact another fiasco or
show-trial in an attempt to have Aljazeera cornered and to
tarnish its reputation?
There is no show-trial here, because there is no trial.
I wish there were a trial, because at least then we would
have the opportunity to contest real allegations.
As an American, I am ashamed to say this, but this is just
the Bush administration's effort to force Sami to make up
lies against Aljazeera for political purposes.
Do you think his case is being used to send a message to
journalists around the globe?
Sami is being used to send a message to Aljazeera -- that
the US, though it purports to encourage free speech, wants
to close Aljazeera down or force the station to censor
itself consistent with the Bush administration's message.
I have been frustrated by the difficulty in getting Western
news organisations to take up Sami's cause.
One reason that Sami has not obtained the support he should
have from journalists around the world is that the US has
waged a campaign against Aljazeera and has made many Western
journalists think that Aljazeera is not a legitimate news
organisation.
Of course, this is made possible by the fact that most
journalists do not speak Arabic, and therefore cannot judge
for themselves.
This will, I hope, be changed with the creation of the
English language Aljazeera channel which will allow these
journalists to make their own judgments.
Are you optimistic about al-Hajj's case and how much longer
do you think the case will drag on?
I am optimistic that as long as Sami gets consistent help
from Aljazeera he will be released in the next six months.
But it is crucial to recognise that his release will not
come from any US court -- of the 248 prisoners released to
date, zero have been released due to a court order and 248
have been released due to political pressures.
There are thus various conditions that will cause his release:
1. That the Sudanese government strongly asserts to the US
that Sami should be released. I am glad to say that I met
the Sudanese ambassador in London and he was very
supportive, but Aljazeera must help secure this assistance.
2. That Aljazeera publicise everything that it can about
Sami, including organising a spot once a week where his
reports can go out to the world.
3. That Sami's friends and colleagues around the world help
secure other support for him, to press for his release.
Anyone who wishes to help Sami should contact me either at
the charity where I work (mailto:info@reprieve.org.uk ) or
on my personal email (mailto:clivess@mac.com ).
If you were successful with his case, do you think he would
be able to bring legal action against the US for having him
detained for such a long period?
He absolutely will bring legal action against the United
States, and I have already arranged for this to happen.
Whether it will ever result in financial compensation is a
different matter. I have exonerated a number of prisoners
off America's death row, proving them innocent after years
of wrongful incarceration, and, incredibly, the most any of
them has ever received is $10.
The system is stacked against the prisoner in this respect.
However, we will bring the litigation against the Bush
administration on Sami's behalf, and on behalf of every
prisoner in Guantanamo who wants us to, because there is an
important principle here.
One day, I very much hope to have President George Bush and
Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld on the witness stand
explaining precisely why they thought they could treat
prisoners in this way.
At the very least, we must make sure that this does not
happen again.
Aljazeera
By Asim Khan & Mahfoud El Gartit
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/021AA43D-0DC8-4EC1-835E-41EEBF47C27A.htm
I can testify to the USSA's delay tactics as I'm still waiting for an FOI act application sent to the US Secret Service in 2001!
by Asim Khan & Mahfoud El Gartit
Wednesday 26 October 2005 9:06 AM GMT
Sami al-Hajj says he has suffered physical and sexual abuse
Sami Muhy al-Din al-Hajj, a Sudanese national, was arrested
by the US military while working for Aljazeera during the US
invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, and detained in Guantanamo
for four years without trial.
Aljazeera.net spoke to al-Hajj's lawyer, Clive
Stafford-Smith, regarding his case and the prospects for his
release.
He said al-Hajj had suffered extreme physical and sexual
abuse and religious persecution.
Stafford-Smith said despite the US government's denials,
Guantanamo detainees were being held in pitiful conditions.
"Guantanamo is a PR disaster. It is one of the most iconic
symbols of hypocrisy in the world. It is just incredible how
the US has squandered all the goodwill it had after the 11
September attacks," the lawyer said.
He visited clients, including al-Hajj, in Guantanamo
recently and told http://english.Aljazeera.net about notes
that the cameraman had written, which were declassified by
the US.
The notes detail how al-Hajj had been beaten and abused by
his interrogators; how he was asked to spy for the US in
exchange for citizenship and how the interrogators
threatened his family, including his five-year-old son, if
he did not comply, he said.
"The Americans have tried to make him an informant with the
goal of getting him to say that Aljazeera is linked to al-Qaida.
"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 Aljazeera
journalist," Stafford-Smith said.
"The US needs to wake up to the fact that the most effective
counter-terrorism measure is the enforcement of human rights
such as the freedom of the press, rather than attempting to
muzzle such freedoms by persecuting members of media
networks that it disagrees with," he told Aljazeera.net.
Aljazeera.net: What are the latest legal developments
regarding al-Hajj's case?
Clive Stafford-Smith: There has been no change in any
meaningful terms.
The Guantanamo cases are once again before the Court of
Appeals in Washington DC with the Bush administration once
again arguing that the prisoners have no enforceable legal
rights.
Unfortunately, the US legal system allows parties to delay
proceedings for years and years.
A client of mine who had been on death row for 31 years
recently died of old age, with his appeals still unexhausted.
Just as the Bush administration has complained about delay
in capital cases, so the Bush administration is now using
the same methods to delay a resolution of the prisoners' rights.
When was the last time you met Sami al-Hajj and how would
you describe his situation, specifically his health and morale?
Sami was most positive about his family, glad to know that
Aljazeera was looking after his wife and son and for
bringing them to Doha.
He was also very happy that the station was helping him to
tell the world about the plight of the prisoners in Guantanamo.
However, I last saw him just as he was about to re-enter the
hunger strike, and he was sombre at the idea that the US was
forcing him into a situation where -- just to assert basic
human rights -- he and many others were being forced to
place themselves in harm's way.
I am worried about what has happened to Sami since I last
saw him two months ago.
Do the charges brought against him have any legal basis?
There are technically no charges against Sami.
He has not been charged with any crime.
He has simply been accused of being an "enemy combatant" --
a ridiculously vague term that can include anyone the
Americans want to include.
There is absolutely no factual basis to this allegation, and
the way that the US makes it is simply dishonest.
For example, he is accused of being seized when he was
trying to go to Afghanistan. Of course that is true.
But what the US does not say in its charges is that he was
on assignment for Aljazeera, he had a legitimate visa to go,
and he was not doing anything wrong.
We heard a lot about torture and abuse in Guantanamo. Has
al-Hajj been affected in any way by this and if so, to what
extent?
"The US military has revealed to him that the US taps the
telephones of Aljazeera journalists (they were tapping
Sami's personal calls to his wife while he was on assignment)"
Sami has endured horrendous abuse -- sexual abuse and
religious persecution.
He suffered his worst abuse when he was seized and detained
in Afghanistan. He was beaten on various occasions, and
sexually assaulted.
He has definitely been beaten. He had a huge scar on his
face when I saw him.
He has suffered in Guantanamo as well, mostly because he was
punished when he objected to the desecration of the Quran.
Did he face any US pressure with regards to his position as
a journalist?
Sami has been interrogated roughly 130 times.
For a long time, this was exclusively aimed at trying to get
him to become an informant against Aljazeera.
The US military wants Sami to say that Aljazeera is a front
for al-Qaida, and is funded by al-Qaida.
He refuses to say this because it is not true.
The US military has revealed to him that the US taps the
telephones of Aljazeera journalists (they were tapping
Sami's personal calls to his wife while he was on assignment).
In particular, the US wants Sami to be an informant against
some of his colleagues at Aljazeera, whom they claim are
members of al-Qaida.
Sami resolutely refuses to do this, as he says it is simply
not true.
Only when he demanded that he be interrogated about the
supposed "charges" against him did the US ever ask him
questions about the vague allegations, and even then there
are some that the US has never even bothered to question him
about.
On a personal level, I have immense respect for Sami's courage.
He refuses to make up stories against his employers and
colleagues to buy his freedom, even though he is under
immense pressure to do so, and even though he is promised
the world by the US if he will turn informant.
Do you think that this is in fact another fiasco or
show-trial in an attempt to have Aljazeera cornered and to
tarnish its reputation?
There is no show-trial here, because there is no trial.
I wish there were a trial, because at least then we would
have the opportunity to contest real allegations.
As an American, I am ashamed to say this, but this is just
the Bush administration's effort to force Sami to make up
lies against Aljazeera for political purposes.
Do you think his case is being used to send a message to
journalists around the globe?
Sami is being used to send a message to Aljazeera -- that
the US, though it purports to encourage free speech, wants
to close Aljazeera down or force the station to censor
itself consistent with the Bush administration's message.
I have been frustrated by the difficulty in getting Western
news organisations to take up Sami's cause.
One reason that Sami has not obtained the support he should
have from journalists around the world is that the US has
waged a campaign against Aljazeera and has made many Western
journalists think that Aljazeera is not a legitimate news
organisation.
Of course, this is made possible by the fact that most
journalists do not speak Arabic, and therefore cannot judge
for themselves.
This will, I hope, be changed with the creation of the
English language Aljazeera channel which will allow these
journalists to make their own judgments.
Are you optimistic about al-Hajj's case and how much longer
do you think the case will drag on?
I am optimistic that as long as Sami gets consistent help
from Aljazeera he will be released in the next six months.
But it is crucial to recognise that his release will not
come from any US court -- of the 248 prisoners released to
date, zero have been released due to a court order and 248
have been released due to political pressures.
There are thus various conditions that will cause his release:
1. That the Sudanese government strongly asserts to the US
that Sami should be released. I am glad to say that I met
the Sudanese ambassador in London and he was very
supportive, but Aljazeera must help secure this assistance.
2. That Aljazeera publicise everything that it can about
Sami, including organising a spot once a week where his
reports can go out to the world.
3. That Sami's friends and colleagues around the world help
secure other support for him, to press for his release.
Anyone who wishes to help Sami should contact me either at
the charity where I work (mailto:info@reprieve.org.uk ) or
on my personal email (mailto:clivess@mac.com ).
If you were successful with his case, do you think he would
be able to bring legal action against the US for having him
detained for such a long period?
He absolutely will bring legal action against the United
States, and I have already arranged for this to happen.
Whether it will ever result in financial compensation is a
different matter. I have exonerated a number of prisoners
off America's death row, proving them innocent after years
of wrongful incarceration, and, incredibly, the most any of
them has ever received is $10.
The system is stacked against the prisoner in this respect.
However, we will bring the litigation against the Bush
administration on Sami's behalf, and on behalf of every
prisoner in Guantanamo who wants us to, because there is an
important principle here.
One day, I very much hope to have President George Bush and
Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld on the witness stand
explaining precisely why they thought they could treat
prisoners in this way.
At the very least, we must make sure that this does not
happen again.
Aljazeera
By Asim Khan & Mahfoud El Gartit
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/021AA43D-0DC8-4EC1-835E-41EEBF47C27A.htm
I can testify to the USSA's delay tactics as I'm still waiting for an FOI act application sent to the US Secret Service in 2001!
posted by professor rat at 9:30 AM
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