AUGUST 28, 2005
Posted October 17, 2005
Haidar Kadhem, Reuters
IMPRISONED
The U.S. military in Iraq detained a Reuters cameraman for three days without charge in Baghdad. Reuters said Haidar Kadhem was freed on August 31; he was detained after coming under fire by U.S. troops.
Kadhem was traveling on assignment in a car with his soundman Walid Khaled, who was shot dead. Kadhem was lightly wounded in the shooting to which he was the only known eyewitness. U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Steve Boylan told CPJ that Kadhem had been detained “due to inconsistencies in his story” that “warrant further questioning.”
U.S. and Iraqi military forces routinely detain Iraqi journalists without charge or explanation, and some have been held for months. U.S. military officials have voiced suspicions on several occasions that some Iraqi journalists collaborated with Iraqi insurgents and had advance knowledge of attacks on coalition forces. But the military has never provided evidence to substantiate any claims. In previous instances, journalists detained on such suspicions were released without charge.