US court questions legality of pro-Palestine British journalist's detention

A US federal court has raised questions about the constitutionality of detaining the visiting pro-Palestine British journalist Sami Hamdi in the United States.

The British-Tunisian commentator and journalist was arrested by US immigration authorities in California last month as he was traveling around North America on a speaking tour explaining the Israeli regime's genocidal war and atrocities against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

According to a legal advocacy group, the US federal court raised "serious questions" about the legality of US agents detaining the pro-Palestine journalist. The court has blocked the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency from transferring Hamdi out of California, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

CAIR said the court recognized that Hamdi's lawyers had "raised serious questions regarding whether his detention was retaliation for protected speech under the First Amendment". It described the court's ruling as "an important first step" in the legal process of Hamdi's case.

The advocacy group described the detention of Hamdi as retaliation for his criticism of the Israeli regime. It denounced the move by ICE's agents as unconstitutional, calling it an "abduction" of an innocent person.

"The court has recognized that this case raises serious constitutional concerns and has acted to ensure Sami cannot be quietly moved away from his lawyers," said Hussam Ayloush, the executive director of CAIR's Southern California chapter. As the case proceeds, Ayloush added, "The fight continues for his freedom and for the protection of free speech for everyone."

The unlawful detention of the critic of the Israeli regime’s genocide in Gaza has sparked a legal battle, with his lawyers filing emergency petitions against his detention. British parliamentarians and UK civil society groups are demanding that their government take action.

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Hamdi was detained on October 26 at San Francisco International Airport by ICE agents. Unbeknownst to him, the US State Department had revoked his visa two days earlier.

During his speaking tour in North America, pro-Israeli groups had targeted him on social media for his pro-Palestine views.

Anti-Muslim and pro-Israeli social media influencers launched a smear campaign against him, mounting pressure on US officials to stop his speaking tour.

Hamdi's wife, Soumaya, said on Wednesday that he had been "abducted" because of his advocacy for Palestinian rights. Earlier, Hamdi's family reported that the 35-year-old journalist had been suffering from severe pain on his left side while in detention. He was later given on-site treatment by medics.

The Israeli regime launched the genocidal war on the besieged territory in October 2023, killing at least 68,527 Palestinians in Gaza in over two years of shelling, bombing, and massacres, with thousands more believed to be missing beneath rubble or lying in areas rescue crews cannot reach amid widespread destruction and continued danger.

Local Palestinian authorities say more than two-thirds of the total deaths in Gaza were women and children, most often killed with their families in Israeli airstrikes.

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