Call for immediate release of Reuters cameraman held by US army

Reporters Without Borders wrote today to Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of the US troops in Iraq (CENTCOM), saying it was "appalled by the US army's behaviour towards journalists" and calling for the immediate release of the Reuters cameraman in Ramadi (west of Baghdad), Abrahem Al-Mashadani, who has been detained arbitrarily since 10 August. The organisation accused the US forces of "frequently arresting journalists without deigning to provide any justification," adding that this "does not reflect well on the United States, which nonetheless does not hesitate to give the rest of the world lessons on freedom of expression and democracy." The letter continued: "We call on the US army to put a stop to these summary arrests. Furthermore, some of the procedures used in Iraq are unacceptable, including beatings as in the case of the Reuters employees and the NBC cameraman in January 2004, and arbitrary arrests of journalists as in the case of the Canal Plus reporters in May 2004 and the CBS cameraman in April 2005. "We point out that the decision to arrest a journalist should only be taken on an absolutely exceptional basis. Journalists, especially Iraqi journalists, are already running very great risks to go into the field. More than 60 have already lost their lives in this country in two years. It is shocking that they are also being mistreated by the US army." Reporters Without Borders also voiced concern about the increasing frequency of physical attacks, imprisonment and arbitrary arrests of journalists in Iraq. The number of cases has grown steadily in recent months and yet the figures available are far from complete as both the news organisations concerned and the relatives of the journalists who are the victims are reluctant to talk publicly about these abuses for fear of reprisals. Al-Mashadani has so far been detained for two weeks without any justification for holding him being presented by the US army. He has not been allowed to receive any visit from his family or his lawyers. His relatives say US marines arrested him after a routine check at his home in which they viewed the images recorded on his camera. The US command has refused to make any comment about his arrest.