Something to keep in mind the next time someone talks about "detainees" as though it's a given that they're a guilty terrorist. Case closed (but no trial necessary!!).
I'm sure all the gung-ho righties would enjoy spending 17 months in jail and then being released with a "Sorry! Bye!"
:
Premium Link Upgrade
Excerpt:
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The U.S. military freed a Reuters photographer in Iraq on Wednesday after holding him for almost a year and a half without charge.
Ibrahim Jassam Mohammed, an Iraqi who has contributed photographs and video to Reuters on a freelance basis, was detained in a raid by U.S. and Iraqi ****** on his home in Mahmudiya town, south of Baghdad, in September 2008.
"How can I describe my feelings? This is like being born again," Jassam told Reuters by telephone as he was greeted emotionally by his ******.
Jassam was one of several Iraqi journalists working for foreign news organizations who have been detained by the U.S. military, often for months at a time, since the 2003 U.S. invasion. None have ever been charged, triggering criticism from international journalism rights groups.
"I am very pleased his long incarceration without charge is finally over," said editor-in-chief David Schlesinger. "I wish the process to release a man who had no specific accusations against him had been swifter."
The U.S. military asserted that Jassam was a "security threat" but it has given no other public explanation for his arrest or long detention. U.S. military officials did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on his release.
The evidence against Jassam was classified, but the accusations had to do with "activities with insurgents," the U.S. military said last year.
The term "insurgents" in Iraq generally refers to Sunni Islamist groups, like al Qaeda. Jassam is a Shi'ite Muslim.
I'm sure all the gung-ho righties would enjoy spending 17 months in jail and then being released with a "Sorry! Bye!"
:Premium Link Upgrade
Excerpt:
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The U.S. military freed a Reuters photographer in Iraq on Wednesday after holding him for almost a year and a half without charge.
Ibrahim Jassam Mohammed, an Iraqi who has contributed photographs and video to Reuters on a freelance basis, was detained in a raid by U.S. and Iraqi ****** on his home in Mahmudiya town, south of Baghdad, in September 2008.
"How can I describe my feelings? This is like being born again," Jassam told Reuters by telephone as he was greeted emotionally by his ******.
Jassam was one of several Iraqi journalists working for foreign news organizations who have been detained by the U.S. military, often for months at a time, since the 2003 U.S. invasion. None have ever been charged, triggering criticism from international journalism rights groups.
"I am very pleased his long incarceration without charge is finally over," said editor-in-chief David Schlesinger. "I wish the process to release a man who had no specific accusations against him had been swifter."
The U.S. military asserted that Jassam was a "security threat" but it has given no other public explanation for his arrest or long detention. U.S. military officials did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on his release.
The evidence against Jassam was classified, but the accusations had to do with "activities with insurgents," the U.S. military said last year.
The term "insurgents" in Iraq generally refers to Sunni Islamist groups, like al Qaeda. Jassam is a Shi'ite Muslim.
