The above picture, entitled "Scream for Freedom," is a reproduction of a cartoon drawn by Sami al-Hajj, a cameraman for news agency al-Jazeera, while he was imprisoned in the Guantánamo prison facility. It's a reproduction because the original cartoon drawn by al-Hajj's own hand has been banned from publication in the United States. Al-Hajj had to describe the drawing to a Canadian artist, who was able to re-produce it from his detailed description. Freedom of the press is a wonderful thing - remember to cherish it always.Al-Hajj was just released from prison today, having been incarcerated at Gitmo for seven years. He was, like all detainees in the prison, labelled an "enemy combatant," but never charged. That's right: he was in prison for seven years and was never charged with a crime.
He was, however, encouraged to spy on al-Jazeera, and most of his questioning did not refer to his own purported "terrorist links" (he was accused of having al-Qaida training and supplying some Chechnyan rebel groups) but rather to the actions of the Qatar news network, according to al-Jazeera itself. I hesitate to use al-Jazeera as my only source on this, and I think we should take the network's assertions with a grain of salt, considering the fact that al-Hajj is their employee. I actually have no choice, however: BBC and CNN only give al-Jazeera's account, and FoxNews doesn't have a clue that this has happened at all (or, more likely, doesn't want us to have a clue).
I think there is plenty of information out there, from the New York times to Slavoj Zizek, about the chargeless detention of these executively labeled "enemy combatants" at Guantánamo; I don't feel there's anything for me to add. Just be aware that this guy was a cameraman and had a legitimate work visa with a respectable international news agency; he now has gone on hunger strike and been force-fed, interrogated regularly, acquired a kidney infection and throat cancer, and has not seen his young son since he was a toddler. He's 38. And he was never charged with any crime.
And second, what about his drawing? Banned in the United States? Let me just say this: if America is so afraid of a cartoon of Guantánamo being released, then our government had damn well better clean up whatever the hell is going on in there, because this whole situation is worthy of absolutely nothing better than a fascist state. I'm thoroughly disgusted.
