Juan Cole calls out the U.S. military for its assistance in arresting a reporter for the UK’s Guardian newspaper:
US troops were used to arrest an Iraqi journalist working on a story for a British news organization about corruption in defense contracts in Iraq. This is very troubling on all sorts of levels. US troops do not have a Status of Forces agreement with Iraq and do not have a constitutional right to arrest civilians without a warrant. And, the US military should not be harassing journalists reporting on contract fraud.
Huh. I wonder if his working on a story about contract corruption had anything to do with the U.S. assistance in this arrest. A Guardian account reveals the newspaper staff’s fury over the arrest and manhandling of the reporter:
US troops seize award-winning Iraqi journalist — American troops in Baghdad yesterday blasted their way into the home of an Iraqi journalist working for the Guardian and Channel 4, firing bullets into the bedroom where he was sleeping with his wife and children.
Last week, we discussed the near impossibility of reporting from Iraq without being kidnapped or murdered. Then there’s the coercive control by Bushco: As Jazz at Running Scared blog asks with apt snark, “So tell us again how there’s no war against the press in Iraq?”
Adds Jazz:
… unless some seriously valid mitigating circumstances come to light, this is one very disturbing story. […]
It’s a long stretch to try to find a way to give the benefit of the doubt on this one. If independent sources can confirm that this journalist was actually working as a covert agent for the insurgents, then fine. Raid his house. But if he was, then why was he released four hours later? This has the awfully strong stench of trying to intimidate a reporter who was bringing government and/or military malfeasance to light.
The Guardian reports:
American troops in Baghdad yesterday blasted their way into the home of an Iraqi journalist working for the Guardian and Channel 4, firing bullets into the bedroom where he was sleeping with his wife and children.
Ali Fadhil, who two months ago won the Foreign Press Association young journalist of the year award, was hooded and taken for questioning. He was released hours later. . .
“We need a convincing assurance from the American authorities that this terrifying experience was not harassment and a crude attempt to discourage Ali’s investigation.”
Dr Fadhil was asleep with his wife, their three-year-old daughter, Sarah, and seven-month-old son, Adam, when the troops forced their way in.
“They fired into the bedroom where we were sleeping, then three soldiers came in. They rolled me on to the floor and tied my hands. When I tried to ask them what they were looking for they just told me to shut up,” he said.
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Read more comments at The Heretik blog and Factesque blog (via Memeorandum).
