British political commentator Sami Hamdi returned to the UK on Thursday afternoon after more than two weeks in US immigration detention, declaring that "extremists will never win". The 35-year-old landed at Heathrow Airport following his release by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Two federal judges found "serious breaches" of Hamdi's freedom of speech rights regarding his visa revocation.
ICE detained Hamdi at San Francisco International Airport on October 26. His visa had been revoked without his knowledge. Hamdi told reporters at Heathrow: «I did nothing illegal in the US. The visa was revoked because of my advocacy for Palestine.» He accused an "extremist group" of leveraging influence with the State Department to target him specifically. US officials had previously stated that Hamdi's comments after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack "celebrated violence".
Federal Court Ruling
Speaking outside Heathrow Airport, Hamdi emphasized the court victory: «I am pleased that the judges found that my freedom of speech rights were infringed upon, and I am pleased that my voice is back and that the extremists will never win.» He stressed that «America stood with me against the extremist Israeli lobby». The managing director of global risk company The International Interest added: «They failed to silence me, they will continue to fail to silence all those voices of truth.» He is allowed to apply for a new US visa with no record.
Family's Call for UK Action
Hamdi's family expressed "great relief" at his voluntary return without deportation orders. In a statement, they revealed: «For the last 18 days, he has been detained in a room with 80–90 other people, living in terrible conditions.» They called on the UK Government to "re-evaluate its approach and increase its efforts to secure the safe release of its citizens, including when they are detained by allies". The family stated Hamdi was detained «despite committing no crime» because he «spoke out against Israel's genocide of Palestinians in Gaza». Lawyers for CAIR-CA claimed Hamdi was "punished for criticising Israel, not for any alleged wrongdoing".
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
