US Imprisoned AP Photog For 5 Months In Iraq...

AP Robert Tanner Posted Saturday September 16, 2006 at 01:28 PM
From the AP:

The U.S. military in Iraq has imprisoned an Associated Press photographer for five months, accusing him of being a security threat but never filing charges or permitting a public hearing.
AP photographer Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi citizen, was detained on April 12 after working for the AP since September 2004. The AP has not found any evidence of inappropriate contact with insurgents and and have called for him to receive due process under the Iraqi justice system, saying it is in contravention of Iraqi law and the Geneva convention.

According to the AP, the military said Hussein was captured with two insurgents, one linked to al Qaeda. Said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jack Gardner in an email in May: "He has close relationships with persons known to be responsible for kidnappings, smuggling, improvised explosive device (IED) attacks and other attacks on coalition forces." The military also claims that there were bomb-making materials in Hussein's apartment at the time of his arrest. Hussein denies the charge.

According to the AP, the U.S. military has detained 14,000 people worldwide, with 13,000 in Iraq, most held without specific charge.

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