CWA Urges US Military to release AP Photo-journalist from illegal custody

Guild-CWA Calls for Justice for AP Photographer Held by US Military in Iraq

The Newspaper Guild-CWA is calling on the US military to take action in the case of Bilal Hussein, an Associated Press (AP) photographer who has been held for more than six months by US forces in Iraq on accusations that he is a security threat.

We need you to take action, and tell the military to either provide evidence that Bilal is a security threat or release him.

In a report, the AP said it was told by military officials that Hussein, an Iraqi citizen, was being held for "imperative reasons of security" under United Nations resolutions. AP executives said the news cooperative's review of Hussein's work did not find anything to indicate inappropriate contact with insurgents, and any evidence against him should be brought to the Iraqi criminal justice system.

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s): Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld

Sample letter:



We want justice for Bilal Hussein

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
E-mail: public@defenselink.mil
Fax: (703) 697-9080
November 3, 2006

Dear Secretary Rumsfeld,

The Newspaper Guild-CWA is deeply concerned by the more than six month detention of Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, who has been held by US forces in Iraq on accusations that he is a security threat.

We urge you to either quickly produce evidence that Mr. Hussein is a security threat and send him to trial or to end his detention immediately. Holding him in limbo is unfair to him personally and sends a threatening message to Iraqi journalists that they may be subject to incarceration simply for doing their jobs.The lack of security in Iraq has led to extremely dangerous conditions for Iraqi media.

Four media workers were murdered in September, targeted by their killers because of their jobs. Since the start of the war in Iraq 139 media workers have been killed.The Iraqi government and the US and coalition forces must show that they are committed to a free press in Iraq by ensuring that journalists are no longer killed with impunity and by also ensuring that journalists are not being held by forces due to opposition to their work.

The Newspaper Guild-CWA supports the Associated Press' review of Mr. Hussein's work, which did not find anything to indicate inappropriate contact with insurgents. We also support their assertion that any evidence against him should be brought to the Iraqi criminal justice system. Mr. Hussein has also asserted his innocence.Iraqi journalists face extreme pressures as the try to provide an accurate picture ofevents in the country and they must be allowed to their jobs. We hope the Iraqigovernment and coalition forces focus on protecting their safety and legal rights, notdetaining them indefinitely.

We look forward to your immediate action on this matter.