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Prisoner says U.S. told him to spy

Vikram Dodd

London: The U.S. military told an Al-Jazeera cameraman being held at Guantanamo Bay that he would be released as long as he agreed to spy on journalists at the Arabic news channel, according to documents.

The journalist has been in the prison without charge for three-and-a-half years after being accused by the U.S. of being a terrorist, allegations he denies. He claims that he has been interrogated more than 100 times but not asked about alleged terrorist offences. Instead, Sami Muhyideen al-Hajj says U.S. military personnel have alleged during interrogation that Al-Jazeera has been infiltrated by Al-Qaeda .

Some of the interviews have been carried out by British interrogators, who also wanted the cameraman to spy for them. Mr. Hajj was arrested in December 2001 on the Afghan-Pakistani border while on assignment. Mr. Hajj said in one session of questioning he was offered U.S. citizenship if he became a spy: ``They have said, `If you work with us, we will teach you journalism, we will get you a visa to live anywhere you want, we will even give you U.S. nationality, we will protect you, we will give you money. We will help you write a book and then we will publish it. This will help make the Al-Qaeda people contact you, and work with you.'''

Mr. Hajj is a Sudanese national. In the documents he also alleges that the U.S. military threatened his family if he accepted release and then refused to spy on Al-Jazeera. The channel has angered the U.S. by broadcasting recordings of Osama bin Laden threatening the west.

- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005

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