- UK journalist and commentator was detained by plainclothes ICE agents at San Francisco airport, his wife Soumaya Hamdi tells Anadolu
- ‘This is something that should worry everybody, when we start to see that people are being silenced for speaking up in support of Palestinian rights,’ says Soumaya
- ‘Reports from his family that his health has suffered while in custody show that, in addition to raising wider concerns around freedom of speech, his detention is also taking a significant personal toll,’ says National Union of Journalists
LONDON
The wife of British journalist Sami Hamdi, who was recently detained in the US during a speaking tour about Israel’s genocide in Gaza, has urged UK authorities to take immediate action to secure his release.
Sami, a British-Tunisian commentator and journalist, was detained on Oct. 26 at San Francisco International Airport by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
He had been visiting several US states and was preparing to fly to Florida for an event hosted by the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA).
Speaking to Anadolu, his wife, Soumaya, said she only learned of his detention when a friend texted her asking: “Is it true what I’ve heard about Sami, that he’s been taken by ICE?”
“It was a big shock. It still is a big shock. I don’t think we have fully registered it, to be honest,” she said, adding that ICE agents in plain clothes approached him at the airport before taking him away.
Soumaya said officers told her husband that his visa had been revoked and escorted him to a black van without explanation.
“As you can imagine, it is really scary, because you don’t know where you’re going. They’re not telling you why you’ve been taken. They didn’t tell him why his visa has been revoked,” she said.
She added that her husband is “happy to come home,” noting that if US authorities intended to remove him, he could take the next flight out back to London, but instead remains detained.
US ‘continues to revoke visas of persons engaged in such activity’
Following his arrest, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of State issued statements accusing Sami of backing terrorism and threatening the safety of Americans.
“This individual’s visa was revoked and he is in ICE custody pending removal. Under President (Donald) Trump, those who support terrorism and undermine American national security will not be allowed to work or visit this country. It’s common sense,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at Department of Homeland Security, wrote on US social media company X.
Quoting McLaughlin’s post, the Department of State added: “The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who support terrorism and actively undermine the safety of Americans. We continue to revoke the visas of persons engaged in such activity.”
Sami’s detention is part of a wider series of enforcement actions in which US authorities have targeted foreign nationals accused of participating in or supporting protests against Israeli actions in Gaza.
Human rights groups have criticized these measures as violations of constitutional protections for freedom of speech, which apply to everyone within the US.
Soumaya said she believes her husband’s case reflects a broader effort “to silence pro-Palestinian activists.”
“We’ve seen this year that several people have been detained for speaking up in support of Palestine and for criticizing the state of Israel,” she said, citing the case of Mahmoud Khalil, an Algerian-Palestinian activist detained for more than 100 days despite having legal status in the US.
She said her husband has become an effective figure at speaking about the ongoing tragedies in Palestine, which put him “on the radar of some far-right social media influencers, who are very unhappy that he’s criticizing the state of Israel.”
“Bear in mind, he’s not criticizing the United States government. He’s criticizing a foreign state,” she said. “For a country that should be putting American citizens first, that should be prioritizing American citizens’ health care and housing and well-being instead, Sami is being targeted because he has criticized a foreign state.”
- ‘They need to bring Sami home immediately’
Soumaya said she contacted the UK Foreign Office and lodged a case with them to inform them of the detention.
The Foreign Office confirmed to Anadolu that they are in contact with US authorities over Sami’s detention.
“We are in contact with and providing consular assistance to a British man detained in the USA,” said a Foreign Office spokesperson. “We are in touch with the local authorities and his family in the UK.”
Soumaya called on the UK government to intervene for Sami’s release: “Our demand from the British government is very clear. They need to bring Sami home immediately.”
Expressing concern over the state of freedom of speech in the US when it comes to pro-Palestinian voices, Soumaya said they are using the immigration route “to silence people who are speaking up.”
“This is something that should worry everybody,” she said. “When we start to see that people are being silenced for speaking up in support of Palestinian rights, we should be listening, we should be paying attention, and we must all take action.”
In a statement last week, CAIR-CA said a judge recognized “First Amendment questions” in Sami’s case and temporarily blocked ICE from transferring him pending a hearing after his lawyers filed an emergency legal challenge.
- Hamdi’s detention cause for ‘serious concern’
Seamus Dooley, assistant general secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), said the circumstances surrounding Sami’s detention by US authorities “give cause for serious concern.”
Sami is a member of NUJ in the UK.
“Reports from his family that his health has suffered while in custody show that, in addition to raising wider concerns around freedom of speech, his detention is also taking a significant personal toll,” Dooley told Anadolu.
“There is no evidence that, as a journalist, he is guilty of a terrorist offence, and the NUJ urges the UK government to press US authorities for Hamdi’s release,” he added.