Oct. 29 (UPI) — Two press advocacy organizations on Tuesday called for the release of British journalist and commentator Sami Hamdi, who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement while on a U.S. speaking tour.
The British National Union of Journalists and the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists both issued statements calling Hamdi’s detention a misuse of anti-terror laws and an assault on free speech by U.S. authorities.
“The circumstances surrounding his detention give cause for serious concern,” said Seamus Dooley, assistant general secretary for the National Union of Journalists. “There is no evidence that, as a journalist, he is guilty of a terrorist offense, and he should be released.”
An outspoken critic of Israel and its war in Gaza, Hamdi was speaking at a series of events sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Hamdi was taken into custody on Sunday at the San Francisco International Airport to await his removal from the country, for what Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said was his support for terrorism and undermining U.S. national security.
Hamdi was on his way to speak at the gala hosted by CAIR Florida when he was detained, according to CAIR, which described it as an “abduction.”
The Trump administration has taken a hardline stance on enforcing immigration laws. The State Department previously revoked visas of students who “support for terrorism.” A federal judge ruled last month that the Trump administration used deportations of pro-Palestinian students to chill speech on campuses.
“The arrest of Sami Hamdi constitutes a serious violation of his fundamental rights and poses a grave threat to freedom of expression and democratic principles,” Anthony Bellanger, general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, said in a statement. “We are deeply concerned by the apparent misuse of anti-terror legislation, which risks setting a dangerous precedent for journalists and citizens engaging in public debate and exercising their right to free speech.”
CAIR, which is representing Hamdi in his case against the federal government, said its representatives have been able to meet with the journalist at a detention facility in California.
Hamdi was in positive spirits “despite his abduction and the ongoing deprivation of his freedom,” CAIR said in a statement.
Multiple legal motions have been filed by CAIR, including a temporary restraining order to bar the government from transferring Hamdi.
“If the government can cancel a valid visa because it does not like what a person says or believes, then anyone legally visiting, studying or working in our country — whether conservative or liberal, religious or secular — would be in danger of abduction and deportation if the government happens to dislike their speech,” the organization said in a statement.
“This is not what the Constitution permits, and this practice must end with Sami Hamdi.”
