Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Two press advocacy organizations on Tuesday called for the release of British journalist and commentator Sami Hamdi, who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement while on a U.S. speaking tour.
The British National Union of Journalists and the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists both issued statements calling Hamdi's detention a misuse of anti-terror laws and an assault on free speech by U.S. authorities.
"The circumstances surrounding his detention give cause for serious concern," said Seamus Dooley, assistant general secretary for the National Union of Journalists. "There is no evidence that, as a journalist, he is guilty of a terrorist offense, and he should be released."
An outspoken critic of Israel and its war in Gaza, Hamdi was speaking at a series of events sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Hamdi was taken into custody on Sunday at the San Francisco International Airport to await his removal from the country, for what Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said was his support for terrorism and undermining U.S. national security.
Hamdi was on his way to speak at the gala hosted by CAIR Florida when he was detained, according to CAIR, which described it as an "abduction."
