BILAL - JOURNALST SPENT 2 YEARS IN IRAQI JAIL BASED ON NO EVIDENCE, SAYS ATTORNEY

The attorney hired by the Associated Press to defend AP photographer Bilal Hussein, who was imprisoned for more than two years by the U.S. military after being accused of collaborating with Iraqi insurgents, said that the military produced only two witnesses to testify against him at hearings by an Iraqi court last month. Attorney Paul Gardephe told Photo District News that the two witnesses were the Marines who arrested Hussein in 2006. The military also introduced as evidence Hussein's photo archive, which included photos of insurgents firing weapons, and a swab test that suggested that explosive residue was found in his apartment. Gardephe said that the positive test results probably were the result of an explosion that occurred near Hussein's apartment on the day he was arrested. "There was never any evidence that suggested to me that he was performing in any other role than a photographer covering a conflict," Gardephe told PDN, a magazine for professional photographers, following Hussein's release.

17/04/2008