The hope now is that the embassy will once again come through at the last minute. When United 93 was filming on location in New York, Alsamari was only granted a visa the day before filming was due to start. This is not the first time he has had problems with the US authorities. Mr Alsamari, 30, deserted from the Iraqi army in 1993 and sought asylum in Britain in 1998. It is believed to have been heading for the White House before it was steered off course after passengers intervened, eventually crashing in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The film is a real-time account of the hijack of the fourth plane seized on September 11, which passengers attempted to retake from their captors. I have only seen footage and it would have been amazing to be in New York for the premiere.' 'It would be so disappointing not to be able to go, because I have still not seen the film.

He said: 'I think this was because I am still an Iraqi citizen and fought in the Iraqi army - but that was because I was forced to. It is testament both to the strength of the human spirit and to the extremes we'll go to in order to keep our loved ones safe.Alsamari, whose CV also includes Crossroads, At Home With The Braithwaites and Spooks, said he believed the decision was due to his nationality and status as a former member of the Iraqi armed forces. Out of Iraq is an exhilarating and terrifying story of one man's escape from one of the harshest regimes of the modern era. But, of course, it wasn't quite that simple. The only thing which could help was money and lots of it, so Lewis fraudulently transferred e37,000 from the accounts of William Hill (where he had a temporary job) into his own bank, and wired it to Baghdad in order to pay the necessary bribes. Now he had to work out how to rescue his mother, brother and sister, who had been apprehended by security forces and thrown into jail once Lewis's escape became known. Against the odds, Lewis survived this trek, made it across the border into Jordan, and eventually sought asylum the UK, where he had spent his childhood. Going under the wire of the army compound where he was posted, Lewis was shot in the leg, making his escape - which required a gruelling journey in disguise across the desert at night with a group of Bedouin, at the mercy of ravenous wolves - all the more arduous. This left him with only one option - to escape from his native land, leaving his family behind him. Things went from bad to worse once his superiors discovered his ability to speak English, and Lewis was selected for Saddam's elite, top secret intelligence service, an offer he literally could not refuse. The astounding true story of one man's struggle to free himself and his family from Saddam's IraqĪged 17, Lewis Alsamari was conscripted into the Iraqi army.

Out Of Iraq.. by Lewis Alsamari