Lewis Alsamari

Sarmed al-Samarrai (born 1976) is an Iraqi-born actor now based in England. He was granted asylum in the United Kingdom in the 1990s. He has appeared in episodes of television series such as Spooks and Crossroads. In 2006 he starred in the Universal Pictures film United 93 as the terrorist Saeed al-Ghamdi. Samarrai was reported to have been denied a visa by US immigration authorities when he applied to visit New York to attend the premiere of United 93. The reason reportedly given was that he had once been a conscripted member of the Iraqi Army - although this was also the grounds for his refugee status after his desertion in 1993. Other sources say that he applied late for his visa and that it was not denied. Samarrai was featured in...