Bilal Hussein

MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 2007

LOCKED IN LIMBO

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER PREVIEW » An Associated Press contract photographer has been incarcerated in Iraq by the U.S.—but not charged—since April 12, 2006.

By Charles Layton
Charles Layton (charlesmary@hotmail.com)is an AJR senior contributing writer.

SIGN HERE TO DEMAND BILAL HUSSEIN’S IMMEDIATE AND SAFE RELEASE

By Joe Strupp

Published: August 09, 2007 4:40 PM ET

“NEW YORK Just one month after supporters of detained Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein launched an online petition to gather support for his release, more than 900 people, mostly fellow journalists, have signed on from 70 countries…...”

Since you are concerned, I thought I would post the following for you to refer to as well:

This is the AP/Bilal resource site: and article timeline of sorts. Perhaps you are already aware of this AP link, but if not and for other’s study and benefit, I will list it here as reference.

THE DETENTION OF AP PHOTOGRAPHER BILAL HUSSEIN

AP update: 7.27.2007

“The U.S. military in Iraq has imprisoned Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein since April 12, 2006, accusing him of being a security threat but never filing charges or permitting a public hearing. “We want the rule of law to prevail,” says AP President and CEO Tom Curley. “He either needs to be charged or released. Indefinite detention is not acceptable.” Military officials say that Hussein was being held for “imperative reasons of security” under United Nations resolutions. A Pentagon spokesman reiterated that stance Sept. 18. Hussein is a 35-year-old Iraqi citizen and a native of Fallujah. AP executives said an internal review of his 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. Hussein began working for the AP in September 2004. He photographed events in Fallujah and Ramadi until he was detained.

Bilal Hussein is one of an estimated 14,000 people detained by the U.S. military worldwide,13,000 of them in Iraq. They are held in limbo where few are ever charged with a specific crime or given a chance before any court or tribunal to argue for their freedom. In Hussein’s case, Curley and other AP executives say, the military has not provided any concrete evidence to back up the vague allegations they have raised about him. More information is contained in the news stories and press materials below….”

... list of articles then follow.

Hope this is of some use to you.

NYTIMES: Opinion Section (subscription needed)

Charge Our Man, or Let Him Go (1 Letter)

“To the Editor:

The New York Times rightly calls on Congress to pass a law for the handling of prisoners who have been detained by the United States military (“Rules for the Real World,” editorial, Sept. 20).

For more than five months now, The Associated Press has been asking the military either to charge or release the A.P. photographer Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi citizen who works for us in Ramadi. The military says he has improper ties to insurgents, but it has shown us no evidence of it, and given us no chance to refute the evidence it claims to have.

This week, in response to going public with our request, the Pentagon reported that there had been three “independent, objective reviews” of Bilal’s case. The only one we know of is a single deliberation that neither Bilal nor his attorney heard of until long after it had been held.

It is important to remember, however, that Bilal is just one of thousands now being detained by the United States military in the same limbo — beyond the scope of established law.

The A.P. reported on Sunday that as many as 14,000 people are being held by the military as “security detainees” in a global network of overseas prisons. They haven’t been charged, and most haven’t been told why they were picked up in the first place.

In Iraq, where 13,000 are being held, government officials say the United States has no right to detain its citizens.

All we are asking is that Bilal have appropriate access to justice: charge him or let him go. Likewise, due process should apply to the thousands of others being held in the United States military vacuum.

Tom Curley
President and Chief Executive
The Associated Press
New York, Sept. 20, 2006”