By: Joe Strupp Military Reporters and Editors became the latest group Wednesday to weigh in on the controversy regarding Associated Press Photographer Bilal Hussein, who is facing unspecified terrorist charges in Iraq.
In a letter to the Pentagon, delivered earlier today, the group claimed "Hussein's imprisonment is contrary to every notion of justice, fair play and the U.S. Constitution, which every member of America's military swears to uphold and defend."
Hussein, who has been detained by Iraqi officials since April 2006, was told last week he would be formally charged and faces a court date in Baghdad on Thursday. AP officials have protested his detention and the pending charges, claiming there is no proof of any illegal activity.
The entire MRE letter, signed by MRE President James Crawley and delivered to Pentagon Public Affairs Officer Bryan Whitman, is below:
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An OPEN LETTER from Military Reporters and Editors Regarding Associated Press Photographer Bilal Hussein
It could happen, we fear, to any journalist covering the war in Iraq. A soldier confiscates your notes, cameras and gear, and takes you into custody.
Once jailed you have no rights ? not to remain silent, to call a lawyer or see a judge.
That was the fate of Bilal Hussein, an Associated Press photographer who was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2005. He has been jailed for 19 months by the U.S. military. They claim Hussein is an insurgent or has links to insurgents. The U.S. military so far has offered no proof of its allegations against Hussein, one of many Iraqis working as journalists for American news organizations, but vows to hold him indefinitely.
We at Military Reporters & Editors wonder how this incident has been allowed to go on for so long. We also wonder if it could happen to other Iraqi journalists who have risked their lives to tell America and the world about life in Iraq. Without their work we would know far less about the fighting there and how it affects both the millions of Iraqis and the thousands American troops, and for that matter, the world. We wonder if U.S. military authorities would show the same respect for American journalists in Iraq, or if one of us, too, could end up like Hussein.
Bilal Hussein's imprisonment is contrary to every notion of justice, fair play and the U.S. Constitution, which every member of America's military swears to uphold and defend. Bilal Hussein may be a true threat to security in Iraq or he may be innocent. We do not know, and we cannot know as long as he remains locked up without the opportunity to defend himself and to hear the specific "evidence" against him.
Therefore when the U.S. military says, "Trust us," we simply cannot.
We realize that our troops are operating in a war zone far from home, that the U.S. Constitution doesn't carry the force of law in Iraq. That is no excuse for American and Iraqi authorities to hold any individual without some form of democratic due process for an indefinite period. Mr. Hussein should have an opportunity to address his arrest and imprisonment.
Military Reporters & Editors does not demand Hussein's immediate release. We do not ask that American and Iraqi military authorities jeopardize innocent lives. We do ask, however, that the United States government do the right thing and give Hussein his day in court.
This is the only way the Army can make public its evidence against Hussein, whose previously good name has been tainted by the military's allegations. A trial would put to rest the issues that have been unresolved for 19 months. It would give Hussein a chance to regain his freedom and clear his name, and let the world see once more that the United States does not just make a big show about supporting the rule of law, but lives it.
Justice deferred or delayed is justice denied. Bilal Hussein knows that all too well.
For Military Reporters and Editors
James W. Crawley
President
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