One
of the many photos Bilal Hussein has taken for the Associated
Press.
Eighteen months
after he was imprisoned in Iraq by the U.S. Military,
Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein is still sitting in a jail
cell at Camp Cropper, near the Baghdad airport, still waiting to be
brought before a judge. Though he has never been formally charged
with anything, U.S. authorities claim he represents "a security threat,"
with no explanation as to why.
Bilal Hussein, 35, was captured on April 12,
2006. He was accused of being a threat to security, but has not
yet been permitted a public hearing, and nothing has been filed against
him. He is an Iraqi citizen and native of Fallujah, where he was
photographing events when he was detained. He is a member of the
A.P. team that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 for its coverage of the
Iraq War.
"We want to rule of law to prevail," said Associated
Press President and CEO Tom Curley. "He either needs to be charged
or released. Indefinite detention is not acceptable."
U.S. authorities have attributed his arrest to his
physical proximity with insurgents, who had given him permission to take
photos of them. AP executives said an internal review of his work
did not find anything to indicate inappropriate contact with
insurgents.'
Could you imagine, what it might feel like, to be held in
limbo for a year and a half? What are the reasons for delaying any
of these detainees' trials for that long? It may be because there
are too many: there are about 13,000 detainees in Iraq right
now.
I'm guessing they also weren't crazy about Bilal's last
name.
Former AP employees
have created a support committee for Hussein’s release. A petition can
be signed on their website, freebilal.org.
Pulitzer Prize Winners Al Diaz, David
Leeson, Judy Walgren, Anja Niedringhaus, Alexander
Zemlianichenko, Oded Balilty, Enric Marti, Lucian
Perkins and Charles J. Hanley are among those who
have voiced support of the
petition.
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Bilal Hussein, 35, was captured on April 12,
2006. He was accused of being a threat to security, but has not
yet been permitted a public hearing, and nothing has been filed against
him. He is an Iraqi citizen and native of Fallujah, where he was
photographing events when he was detained. He is a member of the
A.P. team that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 for its coverage of the
Iraq War.
