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 Letter to Senator Clinton: Re Sami Elhaj (Re: بكري الصايغ)
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I received this letter from Zein Elabdin Osman, the human rights activists and torture survivor
mohamed elgadi
_______________________________________________
December 1, 2006
Senator Hillary R. Clinton
Leo O’Brien Building
1 Clinton Square
Albany NY 12207
Dear Senator Clinton:
It has been nearly six years since, Sami Muhy Al-Din Al-Hajj, a Sudanese journalist working with Aljazera Television Network, was arrested. He was taken without charges or a trial while working in Qatar, Afghanistan in 2001. Shortly after his arrest he was taken to the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The government of Sudan has assured us that Sami was being released; this has not been the case.
Mr. Sami Al-Hajj has remained at the now infamous Guantanamo prison without any criminal charges being pressed against him. His family is under tremendous distress. He left behind his infant son, who has not seen his father in 5 years. He left his wife and a father, who has since died. This is a critical situation. According to the NGOs which have been able to seen Sami, he is extremely ill and has suffered repeated abuses. We urge you to make every possible effort to have Mr. Al-Hajj released from the Guantanamo prison. He is being held without regard to his innocence and with a lack of legal action.
Lasting security and real justice for the victims of terrorism cannot be achieved without respect for human rights of all detainees and fair trials according to the International Laws and the UN Conventions on Human Rights. The Military Commissions Act, signed into law on October 17, 2006, threatens to entrench into legislation policies that have been widely condemned on all international levels as well as by the United Nations.
Six years ago, the Guantanamo prison camp became an icon of injustice undermining security and respect for the rule of law. It must be closed down and all of those being held in the prison camp must have their basic human rights respected according to the international law and the Geneva conventions. Secretive and indefinite detention must end. Those who are not charged with a criminal offense and have not had a legal trial must be released.
We recall President Bush’s repeated assertions that the United States of America remains committed to the “non-negotiable demands of human dignity”, including the rule of law. We urge you to use your influence to close down this prison camp, return those being held illegally to their families. Allow Sami Muhy Al-Din Ah Hajj to return to his family.
Sincerely,
Zainelabdin E. Osman
American African Foundation Against Torture
www.aafat.org
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فيس بوك
تويتر
انستقرام
يوتيوب
بنتيريست