(RNS) — British journalist and political analyst Sami Hamdi will be released from federal custody after accepting an offer today to voluntarily leave the country.
Hamdi traveled to the U.S. on a valid visa, but it was revoked without cause or Hamdi’s knowledge, his lawyers said. They argued Hamdi was being punished for his criticism of Israel.
The 35-year-old Muslim commentator was detained by federal immigration agents at San Francisco International Airport on Oct. 26 while on his way to Florida to speak at an event held by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
“It is this simple: Sami never should have spent a single night in an ICE cell,” CAIR California CEO Hussam Ayloush wrote in a statement. “His only real ‘offense’ was speaking clearly about Israel’s genocidal war crimes against Palestinians.”
Lawyers representing Hamdi challenged his detention in federal court, arguing that holding a journalist after an unexplained visa revocation raised First Amendment and due process concerns.
The government did not charge him with any criminal conduct, and in court filings depicted Hamdi’s case as an overstayed visa.
But his lawyers argued the Department of Homeland Security officials used official social media platforms “to malign him.”
Last month, DHS Press Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a social media post that Hamd …