"Interrogaters focused
[on] pictures that Bilal had taken shortly before he was arrested that
showed Iraqi children playing with [the] torn-off leg of an injured U.S.
or Iraqi soldier," the
Free Bilal
Committee
wrote, "And was told [on] by the military. One interrogator
said to Hussein, 'Do you know what would happen if these photos were
shown in the U.S.? There would be huge demonstrations and we would
have to leave Iraq. This is why you won't be released. Your
photos pose a threat to us.'"
Here is
the
article in it's entirety that the
Free Bilal Campaign wants you to read; the
entire
report has also been made public by the
Associated Press as of last Wednesday.
Bilal Hussein has taken many controversial photos
(such as this photo that caused a stir in late 2006 of a dead Italian
man with two masked insurgents standing over him with guns), one of
which one him a Pulitzer Prize.
UPDATE: We just received
this additional info from the Free Bilal organization:
Today
over 1850 professional photographers and journalists from over 90
countries sent once again a petition to the U.S.
Government demanding the imediate release of Associated Press
photographer Bilal Hussein.
Bilal
Hussein was detained by US Forces in Iraq on April 12, 2006, and has
been held in prison ever since without charges.
This week,
the US Military informed The Associated Press that they plan to seek a criminal complaint against
Bilal before an Iraqi court on Nov. 29.
Despite the fact
that the US Army had said to media outlets that they have "irrefutable
evidence" that Bilal is "a terrorist media operative" who had
"infiltrated the AP" they won't say what the charges are or what
evidence will be presented.
We can only wonder
why after holding Bilal for 19 months without charges they will not
reveal to the AP defense lawyer the accusation or the evidence they feel
so strongly about.
Futher, the US Army says
that if the Iraqi justice system acquits him they could still throw
Bilal back in jail.
A nearly
50-page report by former federal prosecutor Paul Gardephe on behalf of
the AP and recently disclosed by the news agency concludes that there is
no hard evidence for any of the allegations that the US Military has so
far unofficially made about Bilal.
Considering the towering injustice committed against
Bilal, we demand Bilal's immediate release.
Among
the signatories are Pulitzer Prize winners Al Diaz, David Leeson,
Judy Walgren, Anja Niedringhaus, Alexander Zemlianichenko, Oded Balilty,
Lucian Perkins, John Moore and Charles J. Hanley. Agency VII
photographers Gary Knight and John Stanmeyer, Noor agency photographer
Philip Blenkinsop and Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado have also
signed the petition. The full list of signatures is available at
www.freebilal.org
The
petition, transcribed below, was first faxed on Oct. 12 to the State
Department, the White House, the Office of the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the Office of the Chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee and to the Department of Justice.
More on Bilal's
incarceration, and links to news coverage of efforts to free him, can be
found at www.freebilal.org
We
would appreciate it if you would consider reporting on Bilal Hussein's
situation.
Free Bilal
Committee
Contact:
Annika
Engvall
annika.engvall@worldpicturenews.com
+1
646-454-5953
Cell +1 (347)
582-1165
Tomas Van
Houtryve
tomas.van.houtryve@gmail.com
Cell +33 (678) 53 03
16
Petition:
"On
April 12, 2006, Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein was detained
by the US Forces in Iraq and has been held in prison ever since.
No
formal charges have been presented yet against Bilal, who is behind bars
for having the courage to photograph Iraqi insurgents. Bilal was part of
an AP team that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 for its coverage of the
Iraq war.
Bilal's arrest and imprisonment are a serious affront to the
press as a whole, as well as to democratic traditions.
We,
over 1850 professional photographers and journalists from over 90
countries, are seriously concerned for the life of Bilal Hussein,
especially in view of the amount of time he has already been locked up
and the prison conditions to which he is being subjected.
For
these reasons we demand his immediate release.
Sincerely,
The
Undersigned (see below)
Ps.
The full list of signatures is available at www.freebilal.org"
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