FREE AL JAZEERA JOURNALIST LOCKED UP IN GUANTANAMO

On the Media had a segment today on Sami Al Hajj, the Sudanese cameraman working for Al Jazeera, who was taken captive in Pakistan in 2001, and who has been locked up in Guantanamo pretty much ever since.



Al Hajj's story is mind-blowing. He is a 39-year old cameraman who the U.S. accuses of being a terrorist, but who has never seen the charges, and who has never been brought up on formal charges. I thought this was anathema to American law and constitution, that someone could be locked up with no prospect of release and no prospect of receiving a speedy trial. The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides:


"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, . . . and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense."

Al Jazeera has a web site devoted to Al Hajj's release. His continued detention without trial puts a stain on the U.S. and its government and military. Al Hajj should be charged or forthwith released. But the U.S. should not keep him or the other 400 prisoners locked away to rot in Guantanamo without due process.