Family of pro-Palestine journalist urges UK to act after he suffers ‘medical emergency’ in US detention

The family of British-Tunisian commentator and journalist Sami Hamdi has called on the UK government to secure his immediate release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention in the United States following a health emergency.

“We demand the UK government intervene immediately to ensure Sami is immediately returned home to us before his health suffers any further,” the family said in a statement on Monday. 

The appeal follows a phone call Hamdi had with his wife, Soumaya, over the weekend, during which he reportedly said he was experiencing “excruciating pain on his left side and urgently needed to be seen by a medical professional."

Soumaya said she had only been able to speak to her husband for “30 seconds” since he was taken into custody late last month over his pro-Palestinian advocacy.

“He has now been able to access medical attention, but we remain deeply concerned that his continued detention is damaging his health,” the statement read.

Hamdi was detained at San Francisco International Airport by US authorities on October 26 while on a speaking tour discussing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. 

Unbeknownst to him, his visa had been revoked by US authorities two days earlier after a pressure campaign by anti-Muslim and pro-Israel social media influencers.

The detention of the 35-year-old critic of Israel’s genocide on Gaza has sparked a legal battle, with his lawyers filing emergency petitions against his detention as his wife and UK civil society groups are demanding that their government take action to secure Hamdi's release.

US detains pro-Palestine journalist Sami Hamdi under Israel lobby pressure

A pro-Palestine British journalist has been detained in the United States by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

His case is the latest in what Muslim advocacy groups describe as a campaign to silence pro-Palestinian voices in the US through immigration enforcement.

Hamdi's commentary, emphasizing continued support for the Palestinians, had gained popularity among American Muslims and pro-Palestine supporters since Israel's genocidal war on the besieged Palestinian territory began in October 2023.

Last Saturday, he addressed the annual gala of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights advocacy group, in Sacramento, and was due to speak at another CAIR event in Florida the next day.

But as he moved through San Francisco airport’s domestic terminal on Sunday morning, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers detained him.

CAIR’s California chapter has filed a federal habeas corpus petition, requiring the government to justify Hamdi’s detention, along with an emergency temporary restraining order to stop authorities from moving him to a distant facility.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Hamdi “cheered on” the October 2023 operation by Palestinian resistance groups deep inside the occupied territories.

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Soumaya dismissed the allegations against her husband as “outrageous” and a “smear campaign targeting his advocacy for Palestinian rights.”

Five British MPs, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, issued a statement last week calling on the government to secure consular access and facilitate Hamdi’s safe return.

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the International Federation of Journalists also called for his immediate release.

Seamus Dooley, NUJ assistant general secretary, said there “is no evidence that, as a journalist, he is guilty of a terrorist offense, and he should be released.”

The Muslim Council of Britain urged the government to take “urgent diplomatic action”, saying, “Press freedom cannot be selective and we urge the British Government to come to the defense of its citizens being detained in this manner.”
 

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