Iraq
Reporter remains in U.S. custody one year laterPosted Sep 23 2009
Sept. 2 marked the one-year anniversary of Ibrahim Jassam’s imprisonment by U.S. military forces in Baghdad. Jassam, a freelance cameraman and photographer for Retuers, was taken into custody during a raid on his home in Mahmudiya (south of Baghdad) by U.S. and Iraqi forces, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
On Nov. 30, 2008, the Iraqi Central Criminal Court ordered the U.S. military to release Jassam after ruling there was insufficient evidence to hold him. However a year after his arrest, he still has not been released. So far, Jassam has yet to be charged or to have any evidence presented against him. Lt. Col. Pat Johnson, a spokeswoman for the U.S. military in Iraq, told Reuters that the evidence was classified, but has to do with “activities with insurgents.”
CPJ is working to get Jassam released by keeping in contact with the Pentagon, having written President Obama twice (on this and other matters), and keeping in touch with Reuters and Jassam’s family, says Mohamed Abdul Dayem, CPJ’s Mid-East and North Africa program coordinator. “He’s not being released any sooner because we’ve approached them on this issue. He remains in detention. He is not appearing in front of any sort of legal body,” he says. “So, it is an impasse of sorts.”
More information