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On January 7, 2007, the forth anniversary of his arrival at Guantanamo, Sami began a hunger strike. |
KHARTOUM — As the world marks the sixth anniversary of the first detainee to be thrown into the notorious Guantanamo, Aljazeera journalist Sami al-Haj completes five years of isolation from the world inside the detention center.
"We do not know what was done to him," 'Asim al-Haj, his younger brother, told IslamOnline.net in the Sudanese capital.
"We do not wish this upon anyone."
Sami, 38, was working as cameraman for the Doha-based Al-Jazeera news channel when seized at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in December 2001.
He was flown to Guantanamo on January 7, 2003, and has since been detained without trial.
'Asim, a librarian and journalist, remembers when his brother said he is going to Afghanistan to report the US-led invasion for the popular Arab news channel.
"We did not want him to go," he recalls. "But Sami insisted, saying that he would become a staff employee if he went and that the pay was very good."
Only days before his detention, Sami called his family from Pakistan.
"He said that his assignment was done, but he will go back into Afghanistan to cover one last thing," says 'Asim, who three months later received word that Sami was detained by the Americans.
"We were terrified. We hid the news from the rest of the family for another three months."
But eventually they had to tell their aging father, who grew ill out of grief and died a few months later in early 2003.
The US has been holding hundreds of detainees at Guantanamo declaring them "enemy combatants" to deny them legal rights under American legal system.
Political Case
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"The US wants to pressure Al-Jazeera because of what it represents," says Oussedik.
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Since arriving at Guantanamo, Sami, prisoner no 345, has been shut out from the world in his loathsome cell.
While the US accuses him of aiding terrorism, no formal charge has ever been made against.
The US Department of Defense maintains that "there is a sufficient amount of evidence, both unclassified and classified, which supports continued detention of Sami al-Haj by US forces."
Legal experts, however, believe Washington has no case.
Dr. Fawzi Oussedik, an Algerian expert in international law, dismisses as "empty" the allegations against Al-Jazeera photographer.
"It is not based on anything legal," he told IOL.
Initially, there were twenty-two allegations brought against Al-Haj.
Oussedik says that many of these allegations have since been dropped and believes al-Haj's detention is politically-oriented.
"The US wants to pressure Al-Jazeera because of what it represents," said the expert, also president of the Scientific Committee for Humanitarian Law.
'Asim is also convinced that his brother is detained for political reasons.
"We think Sami is a victim of a political agenda to punish Al-Jazeera."
He learnt that Sami was asked by interrogators to spy on Al-Jazeera in exchange for his release.
"They were going to give him and his family US citizenship and allow him to continue his studies. But he refused."
The maverick Arab news empire is well known for angering leaders in both the West and the Arab world with its coverage.
Washington has accused Al-Jazeera of being a mouthpiece for extremists, notably in Iraq, where the channel has been banned from reporting since 2004.
Campaign
Sami's dilemma has sparked an international campaign to press for his release.
"Wherever you go, people know Sami's name," said 'Asim, who has been active on his brother's case.
"He has become a symbol."
The International Campaign to Free Sami Al-Haj has collected over one million signatures for a petition demanding his release.
The petition was sent to several international organizations, including the United Nations.
On January 7, 2007, the forth anniversary of his arrival at Guantanamo, Sami began a hunger strike to be released or given a fair trial.
"Food is not enough for life," he wrote about his hunger strike.
"Freedom is just as important as food or air.
"Every day they [the US Military] ask me, when I will eat... every day I say, 'give me a fair trial or freedom, and I’ll eat.'"
'Asim is worried about his brother's deteriorating health condition.
"We fear for Sami's health," he said with tearful eyes.
'Asim's worst nightmare is that Sami would not survive till the day he sees his 6-year-old son Mohammed, who was only one when his father left on his reporting assignment.
"His son is getting older and kids are starting to taunt him in school. They know his father is a prisoner."
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