An al-Jazeera cameraman released from US custody at Guantanamo Bay returned home to Sudan yesterday after six years of imprisonment that drew worldwide protests.
Sami al-Haj, along with two other Sudanese released from Guantanamo prison in Cuba on Thursday, arrived at the airport in Khartoum on a US military plane.
The cameraman, who had been on a hunger strike for the past 16 months was carried off the plane by US military personnel and taken straight to a hospital.
Al-Jazeera showed footage of al-Haj being carried into the hospital on a stretcher, looking feeble with his eyes closed but smiling.
“Thank God ... for being free again,” he said from his hospital bed. “Our eyes have the right to shed tears after we have spent all those years in prison. ... But our joy is not going to be complete until our brothers in Guantanamo Bay are freed.”
He claimed US guards prevent Muslims from practicing their religion and reading the Koran.
“Some of our brothers live without clothing,” he said.
The US military says it goes to great lengths to respect the religion of detainees, issuing them Korans, enforcing quiet among guard staff during prayer calls throughout the day.
Al-Haj, the only journalist from a major international news organization held at Guantanamo and many of his supporters saw his detention as punishment for a network whose broadcasts angered US officials.
The US military alleged he was a courier for a militant Muslim organization, an allegation his lawyers denied.
He was detained in December 2001 by Pakistani authorities as he tried to enter Afghanistan to cover the US-led invasion. He was turned over to the US military and taken in January 2002 to Guantanamo Bay.
Reprieve, a British human rights group said Pakistani forces apparently seized al-Haj at the behest of the US authorities who suspected he had interviewed Osama bin Laden.
But that “supposed intelligence” turned out to be false, Reprieve said.
Sudanese officials said al-Haj would not face any charges.
The Burmese junta has said that detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi is “in good health,” a day after her son said he has received little information about the 80-year-old’s condition and fears she could die without him knowing. In an interview in Tokyo earlier this week, Kim Aris said he had not heard from his mother in years and believes she is being held incommunicado in the capital, Naypyidaw. Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was detained after a 2021 military coup that ousted her elected civilian government and sparked a civil war. She is serving a
REVENGE: Trump said he had the support of the Syrian government for the strikes, which took place in response to an Islamic State attack on US soldiers last week The US launched large-scale airstrikes on more than 70 targets across Syria, the Pentagon said on Friday, fulfilling US President Donald Trump’s vow to strike back after the killing of two US soldiers. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on social media. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.” The US Central Command said that fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery targeted ISIS infrastructure and weapon sites. “All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned
Seven wild Asiatic elephants were killed and a calf was injured when a high-speed passenger train collided with a herd crossing the tracks in India’s northeastern state of Assam early yesterday, local authorities said. The train driver spotted the herd of about 100 elephants and used the emergency brakes, but the train still hit some of the animals, Indian Railways spokesman Kapinjal Kishore Sharma told reporters. Five train coaches and the engine derailed following the impact, but there were no human casualties, Sharma said. Veterinarians carried out autopsies on the dead elephants, which were to be buried later in the day. The accident site
RUSHED: The US pushed for the October deal to be ready for a ceremony with Trump, but sometimes it takes time to create an agreement that can hold, a Thai official said Defense officials from Thailand and Cambodia are to meet tomorrow to discuss the possibility of resuming a ceasefire between the two countries, Thailand’s top diplomat said yesterday, as border fighting entered a third week. A ceasefire agreement in October was rushed to ensure it could be witnessed by US President Donald Trump and lacked sufficient details to ensure the deal to end the armed conflict would hold, Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow said after an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The two countries agreed to hold talks using their General Border Committee, an established bilateral mechanism, with Thailand
RSS