QUETTA, March 2: Members of the Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ) staged a demonstration on Friday against the shifting of a cameraman working for a foreign channel to Guantanamo Bay and demanded his unconditional release.Activists of the BUJ assembled outside the press club and chanted slogans against the United States. Quetta Press Club president Rashid Baig and Rezaur Rehman, Syed Ali Shah and Nadeem Qalandrani of the BUJ claimed on the occasion that Sami Al-Haj of the Al-Jazeera channel was arrested by Pakistan security forces in Chaman and handed over to the United States forces across the border.

They claimed that Mr Sami was shifted to Guantanamo Bay in clear violation of international laws, as the journalist had not committed any crime. The United States, which claimed to be a champion of human rights, committed excesses against all journalists who exposed its wrongdoings.The protesters demanded that the arrested journalist be freed immediately. All the journalists, they said, should be allowed to report independently and without any restrictions.