Sami al-Hajj was arrested in Pakistan in December 2001, on an assignment to work in Afghanistan as a cameraman for Al Jazeera, he was handed over to US forces in January 2002.
He has been detained in Guantanamo Bay as an "enemy combatant" for five years, during which Clive AStafford-Smith, his lawyer, claims he has been been beaten, tortured and sexually and racially abused.
Stafford-Smith said: "The Americans have tried to make him an informant with the goal of getting him to say that Al Jazeera is linked to al-Qaeda. "He is completely innocent. He is about as much of a terrorist as my granddad. The only reason he has been treated like he has is because he is an Al Jazeera journalist."
Al-Hajj's detainment has been criticised by several human rights groups and Reporters Without Borders, the Paris-based international media watchdog.
Road to Guantanomo
Al-Hajj, 35 and a Sudanese national, was a member of the Al Jazeera news team that covered the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
He was arrested by Pakistani police in December of that year in Chaman when he and a colleague tried to re-enter Afghanistan. Al Jazeera had asked them to cover the inauguration of the new government. Al-Hajj was detained because of a Pakistani intelligence notice that called for his arrest because of suspected links to al-Qaeda.
He was held in Pakistan for 23 days and on January 7, 2002, was moved to a military jail in Quetta, that same night he was handed over to US forces. Having confiscated his passport, airline ticket to Doha and Al Jazeera press card, American troops transferred him to a detention centre at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan.
Al-Hajj describes the 16 days he spent at the base as the worst of his life. He claims that he was tortured before being transferred to Kandahar in southern Afghanistan for five months, where he says he received similar treatment.
On June 13, 2002, al-Hajj was transferred to Guantanamo Bay. On the flight there he claims that prisoners were not allowed to sleep and had to wear gloves, eye goggles, gags and have their hands and feet linkedby shackles. At Guantanamo, al-Hajj said he has been beaten and abused by interrogators, who demanded that he incriminate Al Jazeera. He said he was asked to spy for the US in exchange for citizenship and that the interrogators threatened to harm his family, including his five-year-old son, if he did not comply.
He has been detained in Guantanamo Bay as an "enemy combatant" for five years, during which Clive AStafford-Smith, his lawyer, claims he has been been beaten, tortured and sexually and racially abused.
Stafford-Smith said: "The Americans have tried to make him an informant with the goal of getting him to say that Al Jazeera is linked to al-Qaeda. "He is completely innocent. He is about as much of a terrorist as my granddad. The only reason he has been treated like he has is because he is an Al Jazeera journalist."
Al-Hajj's detainment has been criticised by several human rights groups and Reporters Without Borders, the Paris-based international media watchdog.
Road to Guantanomo
Al-Hajj, 35 and a Sudanese national, was a member of the Al Jazeera news team that covered the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
He was arrested by Pakistani police in December of that year in Chaman when he and a colleague tried to re-enter Afghanistan. Al Jazeera had asked them to cover the inauguration of the new government. Al-Hajj was detained because of a Pakistani intelligence notice that called for his arrest because of suspected links to al-Qaeda.
He was held in Pakistan for 23 days and on January 7, 2002, was moved to a military jail in Quetta, that same night he was handed over to US forces. Having confiscated his passport, airline ticket to Doha and Al Jazeera press card, American troops transferred him to a detention centre at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan.
Al-Hajj describes the 16 days he spent at the base as the worst of his life. He claims that he was tortured before being transferred to Kandahar in southern Afghanistan for five months, where he says he received similar treatment.
On June 13, 2002, al-Hajj was transferred to Guantanamo Bay. On the flight there he claims that prisoners were not allowed to sleep and had to wear gloves, eye goggles, gags and have their hands and feet linkedby shackles. At Guantanamo, al-Hajj said he has been beaten and abused by interrogators, who demanded that he incriminate Al Jazeera. He said he was asked to spy for the US in exchange for citizenship and that the interrogators threatened to harm his family, including his five-year-old son, if he did not comply.
