(BCN) — An American Muslim civil rights group announced Monday that it has helped secure the release of British journalist and political analyst Sami Hamdi from federal immigration detention.
Hamdi, managing director of The International Interest, a geopolitical consulting and advisory publication, was detained Oct. 26 at San Francisco International Airport while he was in the middle of a U.S. speaking tour.
He was in the country on a valid visa that was “secretly” revoked by federal officials as a pretext for his detention, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which worked to secure his release with the help attorney Hassan Ahmad of the HMA Law Firm and the Muslim Legal Fund of America.
Hamdi will be allowed to return to the United Kingdom voluntarily, according to CAIR.
“The immigration charging document filed in his case alleged only a visa overstay — after the government revoked his visa without cause and without prior notice — and never identified any criminal conduct or security grounds,” CAIR officials said in a news release. “This agreement establishes that the government does not consider Hamdi a danger to the community or to national security.”
“His only real ‘offense’ was speaking clearly about Israel’s genocidal war crimes against Palestinians,” said California CAIR chapter CEO Hussam Ayloush.
A federal judge blocked the government’s move to transfer Hamdi out of California while his case was still active.
His lawyers argued that holding a journalist over a “manufactured” visa problem raised grave First Amendment and due process concerns, according to CAIR.
Civil rights groups say the U.S. sought to punish him for criticizing Israel, not for any alleged wrongdoing.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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