Sudanese Bar Association Dean Calls for Release

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001412 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL PTER US SU SUBJECT: Sudanese Bar Association Dean Calls for Release of Guantanamo Detainee Sami Al-Haj ¶1. On June 13, Fathi Khalil, Dean of the Sudanese Bar Association, renewed his call for the release of ASudanese national Sami al-Haj from Guantanamo, where he has apparently been held for over four years. In a symposium organized by the Al-Jazeera television channel office in Khartoum in cooperation with Al-Sahafa newspaper, Khalil called for compensation for the detainees and a disciplinary board for those responsible for their being held. June 13 marked the fourth anniversary of al-Haj's detention in Guantanamo. ¶2. On June 11, the Sudanese bar Association had called on the Sudanese government to demand the release of all Sudanese detainees in Guantanamo. It also released a press statement questioning the recent deaths of three detainees. HUME