Reuters Employee Detained in Iraq Without Charges

A secret tribunal has ordered that a Reuters cameraman be held without charge in the Abu Ghraib prison until his case is reviewed within six months, a U.S. military spokesman said Wednesday.

Another Reuters cameraman was released after U.S. troops held him for three days. His detention followed an incident in which his soundman was shot dead, apparently by American forces.

Ali Omar Abrahem Mashhadani was arrested Aug. 8 after a search of his home in the city of Ramadi. He has not been charged and the U.S. military has refused to disclose why he is being held.

His brother, who was detained but released, said they were arrested after Marines looked at images on the journalist’s cameras.

Army Lt. Col. Guy Rudisill said Mashhadani would not be allowed to see an attorney, his family or anyone else for the first 60 days of his detention, which began in Abu Ghraib last week.

Reuters Global Managing Editor David Schlesinger said: “I am shocked and appalled that such a decision could be taken without his having access to legal counsel of his choosing, his family or his employers.

“I call on the authorities to release him immediately or publicly air the case against him and give him the opportunity to defend himself.”

Rudisill said he was aware of five journalists with major news media in detention, including a cameraman for CBS.

The Committee to Protect Journalists termed the detention as “simply unacceptable.” In a statement, the group’s executive director, Ann Cooper said the incident was “a bad example to give the citizens of an emerging democracy.”

Reporters Without Borders also expressed alarm.

Reuters also had been pressing for the release of cameraman Haider Kadhem, who was detained Sunday in Baghdad after an incident in which his soundman, Waleed Khaled, was killed as he drove the pair on an assignment.

Iraqi police said U.S. troops fired on the two, both Iraqis.

Koichiro Matsuura, director-general of the United Nations agency UNESCO, condemned the killing of Khaled.

The U.S. military said Kadhem, 24, was questioned about inconsistencies in his statements to soldiers. He suffered superficial wounds from flying fragments.