AP president and CEO Tom Curley on "Bilal's captors have done their best to see that there won't be justice" |
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Bilal Hussein visits with his brother Dr. Abdul Hadi, left, and Hadi's daughters Ban, 14, and Batool, 7, in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday Nov. 14, 2004. |
The Associated Press Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein was reunited with family and colleagues Wednesday, ending more than two years in U.S. military custody after Iraqi judges dropped all legal proceedings against him. |
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Click Well, it seems to me that if we are fostering democracy in Iraq, like we did in Germany, Japan, and South Korea, than we need to be the ones setting the good example. I worked for the Associated Press in Latin America for most of the 90's, and I had several occasions to visit with and photograph rebel camps. Because I did so does not mean I was "on their side," or that I agreed with them. But I'm sure the governments of El Salvador or Guatemala thought differently. I could have easily been detained and held. Working for that the media that shows a side to the story that the government does not agree with should not be a crime, not in a free society. It is possible to agree with the war and agree with our goals over there and simultaneously think this detention is a bad idea. This is not about whether or not you agree with our presence in Iraq. We are the good guys. Let him go. http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/click/ |
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By Robert H. Reid |
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Photo District News Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, the subject of secret court proceedings in Iraq, still has not been told the charges against him, AP president and CEO Tom Curley said Tuesday. |
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| Harper's Magazine December 23, 2007 The Pentagon is convinced that regardless of the evidence presented and the arguments made, Bilal Hussein will be convicted based on its influence wielding and pressure tactics. |
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| SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER Jailed Photographer: Corrupted justice EDITORIAL BOARD Tuesday, December 11, 2007 "There's no comfort in thinking that if Hussein is innocent, righteousness ultimately will prevail. The very notion of justice already has been irreversibly corrupted. Is this the brand of American justice we want to export to Iraq?" View Article |
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| Philadelphia Weekly "Bilal Is No Insurgent" by Morgan A. Zalot "I don't want one other insurgent bomber on the loose to kill [my friends and colleagues in Iraq], but Bilal is no insurgent," says Jim MacMillan, a 16-year veteran Philadelphia Daily News photographer who also worked at the Baghdad bureau of the Associated Press from May 2004 to April 2005. View Article |
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| Photo Distric News Still No Word On Bilal By Daryl Lang Dec. 11, 2007 "What really transpired at the seven-hour Bilal Hussein hearing Sunday? We still don't know. Judge Dhia al-Kinani ordered the hearing, held in the Central Criminal Court in Iraq, kept secret." View Article |
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| Committee to Protect Journalists Secret hearing for AP photographer in Iraq December 10, 2007 "The Committee Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that the criminal hearing for an Associated Press photographer accused of collaborating with Iraqi insurgents is being held in secret." View Article |
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| Associated Press Hearing held for detained AP photographer in Iraq By Kim Gamel Dec. 9, 2007 "Gardephe strongly protested the refusal of the U.S. military to allow him to meet with Hussein privately. Since the U.S. decided Nov. 19 to send the case to the criminal court, a U.S. soldier and a military interpreter have been in the room whenever Gardephe has seen Hussein, allowing no privacy to plan a defense. "You cannot prepare a defendant for a criminal trial with the prosecutor in the room," said Gardephe, a former federal prosecutor now with the firm Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler." View Article |
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| Photo Distric News Judge Orders Bilal Hussein Hearing Kept Secret By Daryl Lang Dec. 9, 2007 "Bilal Hussein, the Iraqi Associated Press photographer who has been held as a security detainee for nearly 20 months, was present for most of a seven-hour hearing Sunday in a Baghdad court. Beyond those basic facts, nothing else about the hearing was made public. A judge ordered the proceedings be kept secret." View Article |
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| Editorial Photographers United Kindom and Ireland Bilal Hussein: terrorist or journalist ? Dec. 1, 2007 Table of allegations vs. findings of the AP investigation. View Article |
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Editorial Photographers United Kindom and Ireland |
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| Download the full AP investigation report Prepared by Former Federal Prosecutor Paul Gardephe View Article (PDF 8 mb) |
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National Press Photographers Association |
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| Photo Distric News AP: Bilal Hussein Court Date Set For Dec. 9 By Daryl Lang November 29, 2007 The U.S. military plans to present evidence against Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein in an Iraqi court on Dec. 9.” |
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Photo Distric News "I trusted him, I trusted his work, I never saw any picture that ever spoke of anything other than a professional relationship with his subjects," says John Moore, a former Middle East photo editor for the Ass |
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Digital Journalist "In this kind of climate, all the checks and balances of jurisprudence are rendered moot. All it takes is a suggestion of an accusation, and a government that regards "national security" as a cloak to undermine our basic freedoms. This time it is Bilal Hussein who is on trial for undisclosed charges. When does the same finger point at Maureen Dowd or Thomas Friedman, or to the editor of your local paper, or even you? |
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Digital Journalist "Such is life for Iraqi journalists. Spending time with the Americans made him an enemy to the insurgents. Spending time with the insurgents made him an enemy to the Americans." |
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Photo Distric News "No one knows when Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein will have his day in court. It could be tomorrow. Or Thursday. Or any other day. |
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International Herald Tribuen |
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New York Public Radio |
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| National Public Radio U.S. to File Complaint Against AP Photographer November 27, 2007 |
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Photos of Camp Crooper, where Bilal has been taken by Getty Senior Photographer John Moore. |
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Interrorgators Told Bilal Hussein His Photos Were A Threat, Report Says View Article |
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| The International Press Institute (IPI) IPI Calls for U.S. Military to Apply Due Process in AP Photographer Bilal Hussein's Case 22 November 2007 PRESS RELEASE "At present, Hussein is being held in a judicial limbo with the U.S. military changing their accusations against him each time they are disproved. IPI calls on the U.S. military to release him or try him or show good cause before an independent court as to why they cannot do so. Until this happens, in the eyes of the international community, Hussein will remain an innocent AP photographer enduring what appears to be a long and unjust imprisonment," added Fritz. |
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Washington Post |
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New York Times |
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Associated Press |
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Harper's Magazine |
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| Guardian Unlimited AP president slams US military by Caitlin Fitzsimmons November 20 2007 "The president of Associated Press has accused the US military of trampling on freedom of the press and a "callous disregard" for the justice system over its treatment of AP journalist Bilal Hussein." View Article |
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Saloon
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National Press Photographers Association
NPPA Magazine's Editorial
August, 2007
"We believe that Hussein should be granted a writ of habeas
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Editor and Publisher Supporters of Detained AP Photographer Mark 18-Month Anniversary With Petition To Feds
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Photo Distric News 18 Months And Counting: AP Photog Remains in Military Custody
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Reporters Without Borders Call for release of AP photographer Bilal Hussein, held by US army for 18 months
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| Getty Images Photos of Camp Crooper Prison in Baghdad where Bilal is being heldh By John Moore Sept. 2007 View Article
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| Visa pour l'Image Photos of the evening projection devoted to Bilal at even in Perpignan, France Sept. 6, 2007
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Editorial Photographers UK & Ireland
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| Photo District News Military Still Holding AP Photographer 365 Days Later By Daryl Lang April 12, 2007 "Bilal has done nothing to justify a year in detention without charges," says Paul Gardephe, a lawyer working on Bilal's behalf for the Associated Press, quoted in an AP story this week. "The military has not provided any credible evidence to support the various accusations of criminal conduct that it has made."
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| Harpers' Magazine Scott Horton April 24, 2007 Pulitzer-Prize winning photojournalist Bilal Hussein has now been in custody in US-run prisons in Iraq for one year and twelve days. No charges have been brought against him. The accusations publicly stated by Brian Whitman and others have already been largely disproved, explaining why the Pentagon has failed to press charges against the photographer.
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Democracy Now! "Bilal Hussein has now been imprisoned since April 5th of last year, more than a year, and we still don't know the reasons for his detention. In fact, in discussing this with the military, almost every time you talk to them they have different concerns that they trot out. I investigated those concerns for about eighth months. I found virtually every specific fact that they trotted out as a basis for a concern was simply untrue. They refuse to bring charges of any kind. In fact, Sami al-Haj just said he was kidnapped. Well, I would say Bilal Hussein has been kidnapped by the military. There is no legal justification of any kind for his detention," Scott Horton said.
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By Noreen O'Donnell "Over time, as the various excuses for his detention have either mutated or vaporized, we at the AP have come more and more to believe that the real reason he was arrested is because of his pictures," said John Daniszewski, AP International editor.
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American Journalism Review "After many months of negotiation between the wire service and the military, AP President and CEO Tom Curley says the Pentagon gave him "a classified review of the facts." According to Curley, there had once been nine different allegations against Hussein. Now, he says, all but two have been eliminated, and the remaining two "are nonsense."
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Committee to Protect Journalists "It is unacceptable that these journalists (Al-Jazeera camera operator Sami al-Haj and Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein)continue to be held without charge or trial," said Joel Campagna, CPJ's senior program coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa. "The message here is that the U.S. military can remove a journalist from the line of duty, hold him for months or years without charge, and not feel compelled to say why. The potential implications for the work of journalists are alarming. If either of these individuals has committed a crime, they should be charged and given a fair trial. If the United States has no intention of doing so, these two journalists should be released at once."
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The Washington Times "Various allegations have been leveled by the military, but the AP has rebutted each one. At one point, for example, U.S. officials alleged he was involved in the kidnapping of two other Arab journalists by insurgents. But this was refuted by none other than the two journalists, who praised Mr. Hussein for helping them to be released and get home. "
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Editor and Publisher “But this is not about Bilal Hussein. He is an innocent victim. It is about the Associated Press. We are the target. Freedom of the press is the target," said AP president and CEO Tom Curley. |
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Harper's Magazine "A Pulitzer Prize-winning war photographer is seized by U.S. Forces and locked up for one year. The U.S. refuses to bring any charges. When American military spokesmen suggest their "suspicions" in interviews with the media, virtually all of them are exposed as false within a matter of weeks. No matter. He is still held. But surely this is some dark alternate universe, and not the one we inhabit, you think?"
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Reporters without Borders “Many journalists have been arrested by the occupying forces since the start of the war. Some have been held for months before being released without charge. There is no justification for holding Hussein, who - according to his lawyer, Paul Gardephe - has not been interrogated since May 2006. It is, furthermore, unacceptable that he is being kept in detention as a result of decisions reached by review panels without him or his lawyer being able to attend.”
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ABC News "April 12 is a sad anniversary for Bilal's AP colleagues worldwide," said the AP's executive editor, Kathleen Carroll. "He has now been held by the U.S. military in Iraq for an entire year without formal charges or the due process that a democratic society demands." Paul Gardephe, the lawyer handling the case for the AP, recently returned from an extended visit to Iraq, where he spoke with military officials, journalists, Iraqi citizens and for more than 40 hours Hussein himself at the Camp Cropper prison near Baghdad's airport. "Bilal has done nothing to justify a year in detention without charges," Gardephe said. "The military has not provided any credible evidence to support the various accusations of criminal conduct that it has made."
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American Journalism Review “Curley and other AP executives say they think Hussein's real crime was taking pictures of insurgents on their own turf or in combat situations--in other words, pictures the military disliked. "This is about thwarting a journalist from reporting the news," says Curley, in a voice that quivers with anger. "We have seen no fact that diminishes our belief that Bilal Hussein is not guilty of anything except committing journalism."
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Committee to Protect Journalists “Irrespective of the motivation for his detention, detaining a journalist for seven months without allowing minimum due process represents an unacceptable infringement on the ability of the press to carry out its work and is openly at odds with the message of democracy and respect for the rule of law that U.S. officials have publicly espoused in Iraq."
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Associated Press Managing Editors "The editors, managing editors and photo editors of America's newspapers stand united in their call for the release of Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, whom you have kept imprisoned in Iraq for seven months without formal charges or substantiated allegations"
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| AP Seeks Action on Detained Photographer By Becky Bohrer, Associated Press Oct 27, 2006 "We are angry, and we hope you are, too," AP International Editor John Daniszewski told a gathering of the Associated Press Managing Editors.
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International Herald Tribune "We regard all these so-called due process events as legally meaningless, and in fact consider it laughable that the term 'due process' would even be applied to them," aid Dave Tomlin, AP's associate general counsel.
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The Salt Lake Tribune “Our nation cannot bring justice to Iraq if we are not willing to practice it ourselves. And holding Bilal on the accusation that he was simply doing his job as a journalist sends the message that this nation does not care to understand, it only cares to silence voices it doesn't like.”
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Military.com "He was accused of aiding and abetting the insurgency, but he has yet to be charged with any crime," said Slaughter, D-N.Y. (...) "Imagine if another nation held an American citizen without charging him of a crime?" she asked. "What are we supposed to say about our country today?"
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| The New York Times
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Washington Post "After more than five months of trying to bring Bilal's case into the daylight, AP is now convinced the Army doesn't care whether Bilal is or isn't an insurgent. The Army doesn't have to care. Bilal is off the street, and the military says it doesn't consider itself accountable to any judicial authority that could question his guilt."
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National Public Radio
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The New York Times
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Reporters without Borders “The United States (53rd) has fallen nine places since last year, after being in 17th position in the first year of the Index, in 2002. Relations between the media and the Bush administration sharply deteriorated after the president used the pretext of “national security” to regard as suspicious any journalist who questioned his “war on terrorism.” The zeal of federal courts which, unlike those in 33 US states, refuse to recognise the media’s right not to reveal its sources, even threatens journalists whose investigations have no connection at all with terrorism. Freelance journalist and blogger Josh Wolf was imprisoned when he refused to hand over his video archives. Sudanese cameraman Sami al-Haj, who works for the pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera, has been held without trial since June 2002 at the US military base at Guantanamo, and Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein has been held by US authorities in Iraq since April this year.”
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Photo District News "The military has shown AP nothing that gives reasonable grounds for believing Bilal has engaged in any illegal or hostile acts against U.S. or Iraqi authorities or citizens," wrote AP president and CEO Tom Curley in a memo. "Our own review shows no evidence of wrongdoing."
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CommonDreams.org “I decided to swim ... but I changed my mind after seeing U.S. helicopters firing on and killing people who tried to cross the river.”
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The Associated Press AP official page updated regularly with information about or related to the detention of Bilal Hussein.
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