Letter to Robert Gates on first anniversary of AP photographer Bilal Hussein's arrest

Reporters Without Borders wrote today to US defence secretary Robert Gates condemning the detention of Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein at Camp Cropper, near Baghdad, for the past 12 months. “We understand Hussein may be suspected of links with Iraqi insurgents,” the letter said. “It is true that he was not an ‘embedded' journalist and that he approached and photographed insurgents. He was arrested with two insurgents, but that does not constitute proof of his involvement in criminal activity. “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.” The letter added: “According to a Pentagon spokesperson, these panels recommended that he should continue to be held because he represented ‘an imperative threat to security.' If he has committed a crime, he must be handed over to the Iraqi authorities and evidence of his guilt must be made public. If not, he must be released immediately.” Aged 35, Hussein had been working for the AP for more than a year when he was arrested in Ramadi, 100 km west of Baghdad, on 12 April 2006. His arrest was due to his physical proximity with insurgents, who had given him permission to take photos of them.