Journalist Detained in US for Criticizing Israel is Set for Release

IQNA – British journalist Sami Hamdi, whose detention by US authorities was decried by civil rights groups as politically motivated, is set to be released.

Hamdi was detained in San Francisco two weeks earlier during a speaking tour in the United States.

According to Muslim civil rights organizations, this could have been retaliation for his criticism of the Israeli regime’s actions in the Palestinian territories, especially Gaza. 

On Monday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said that Hamdi had accepted a voluntary departure offer from the United States.

According to Traci McLaglin, the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Hamdi himself asked to depart the country, and ICE “is eagerly arranging his departure from the United States”.

The California chapter of CAIR and Hamdi’s attorney welcomed the decision. According to ICE, Hamdi was still in custody in California on Monday afternoon. In a CAIR statement, federal immigration authorities also said they had accused Hamdi of overstaying his visa, but the visa was cancelled without reason or prior notice; no criminal actions or grounds for security concerns were found.

The agreement indicates that the government does not consider Hamdi a threat to the community or national security.

The detention and possible release of Hamdi is seen as a significant example of how immigration issues are handled for public critics and rights advocates who say that such a move has political motives. While other details remain unclear, communities of lawyers and human rights advocates continue to monitor developments and the legal implications of this case.

Source: mezha.net