Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
San Diego Union-Tribune
May 6, 2008 By Associated Press
KHARTOUM, Sudan – An Al-Jazeera cameraman released from the U.S.-run Guantanamo Bay detention center last week described it yesterday as the most heinous prison mankind has ever seen.
Sami al-Haj, a Sudanese citizen, was whisked from his hospital bed in a convoy escorted by police cars to an outdoor event in his neighborhood organized by his family. His speech was broadcast live on Sudanese television.
“After 2,340 days spent in the most heinous prison mankind has ever known, we are honored to be here. Thank you, and thank all those who defended us and of our right in freedom,” he told the cheering crowd.
Al-Haj was the only journalist from a major international news organization held at Guantanamo in Cuba.
The U.S. military charged that he was a courier for a militant Muslim organization, an allegation his lawyers denied.
Al-Haj said he believed he was arrested because of U.S. hostility toward Al-Jazeera, an Arabic television channel.
“I was subjected to 130 (interrogation) sessions, more than 35 about Al-Jazeera, and they wanted me to be a spy against Al-Jazeera,” he said. As a faithful Muslim, he said he rejected the offer.
May 6, 2008 By Associated Press
KHARTOUM, Sudan – An Al-Jazeera cameraman released from the U.S.-run Guantanamo Bay detention center last week described it yesterday as the most heinous prison mankind has ever seen.
Sami al-Haj, a Sudanese citizen, was whisked from his hospital bed in a convoy escorted by police cars to an outdoor event in his neighborhood organized by his family. His speech was broadcast live on Sudanese television.
“After 2,340 days spent in the most heinous prison mankind has ever known, we are honored to be here. Thank you, and thank all those who defended us and of our right in freedom,” he told the cheering crowd.
Al-Haj was the only journalist from a major international news organization held at Guantanamo in Cuba.
The U.S. military charged that he was a courier for a militant Muslim organization, an allegation his lawyers denied.
Al-Haj said he believed he was arrested because of U.S. hostility toward Al-Jazeera, an Arabic television channel.
“I was subjected to 130 (interrogation) sessions, more than 35 about Al-Jazeera, and they wanted me to be a spy against Al-Jazeera,” he said. As a faithful Muslim, he said he rejected the offer.