AP finds no basis for holding photographer

NEW YORK -- A series of accusations raised by the U.S. military against an Associated Press photographer detained for 19 months in Iraq are false or meaningless, according to an intensive AP investigation of the case made public Wednesday.

Evidence and testimony collected by the AP show no support for allegations that Bilal Hussein took part in insurgent activities or bomb-making, and few of the images he provided dealt directly with Iraqi insurgents.

"Despite the fact that Hussein has not been interrogated since May 2006, allegations have been dropped or modified over time, and new claims added, all without any explanation," said the nearly 50-page report compiled last spring by lawyer and former federal prosecutor Paul Gardephe.

The report, along with copious exhibits and other findings, were provided to U.S. and Iraqi officials in late June but have never been publicly released by the AP.

"The best evidence of how Hussein conducted himself as a journalist working for AP is the extensive photographic record," Gardephe wrote. "There is no evidence -- in nearly a thousand photographs taken over the 20-month period -- that his activities ever strayed from those of a legitimate journalist."

The U.S. military notified the AP last weekend that it intended to submit a complaint against Hussein that would bring the case into the Iraqi justice system as early as Nov. 29. Under Iraqi codes, an investigative magistrate will decide whether there are grounds to try Hussein, who was seized in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi on April 12, 2006. The AP has retained Gardephe to defend Hussein before the Iraqi court.

Military officials have alleged that Hussein, 36, had links to terrorist groups but are refusing to disclose what evidence or accusations would be presented. Previously, the military suggested an array of possible lines of investigation, including claims that Hussein offered to provide false identification to a sniper seeking to evade U.S.-led forces, that he possessed bomb-making equipment, and that he took photographs that were synchronized with insurgent blasts.

Most of Gardephe's report is based on a two-week visit to Iraq in March. He inspected hundreds of photographs taken by Hussein and interviewed him in custody for more than 40 hours along with a wide range of co-workers, relatives and friends.

The report addresses points raised by the military in both private conversations and public statements, but Gardephe said he was hampered by the lack of specific information about what the military intends to present in court.

Despite U.S. military claims that insurgents granted Hussein "unusual access," 99 percent of his photographs showed scenes readily visible to any passer-by, such as bombed-out buildings, injured civilians, and funerals, Gardephe said. He was referring to total number of photo images submitted by Hussein, of which only 420 were distributed by the AP.

His report found no photographs synchronized with an explosion or other attack, and no other photographic evidence that he was ever tipped off to insurgent activity.

Only on one day during the most intense fighting over Fallujah in November 2004 did he photograph insurgents actually engaged in combat against coalition forces, while other photos during his employment showed the aftermath of attacks in areas he was covering.

Gardephe cited Hussein's photos of a Red Crescent ambulance damaged by insurgent mortars; of relatives weeping over the body of an Iraqi soldier killed by insurgents; of the bodies of 19 fishermen killed by insurgents for no apparent reason; and of civilians hurt by suicide car bombs.

"These and other such images are inconsistent with the notion that Hussein was 'plugged-into' the insurgency or an insurgent propagandist," the report said.

One of the photos of insurgents in combat -- taken in Fallujah on Nov. 8, 2004 -- was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning submission by the AP. It shows one insurgent firing a machine gun, while another holds an ammunition belt and a third apparently had just fired a mortar. According to the AP report, Hussein took this photo from a nearby furniture store, and the insurgents were not aware of his presence.

The overwhelming majority of Hussein's photographs show the impact of the war on Iraqi civilians. Less than 10 percent of the 420 of his photos that were distributed by AP show possible insurgents or the effects of insurgent activities.

Gardephe recounted discussions he had with U.S. military officials at Camp Cropper, the facility outside Baghdad where Hussein is being held.

"The USM conceded that the 'evidence' concerning most of the allegations against Hussein was quite weak," Gardephe wrote.

"However, I was told that the USM has 'irrefutable proof' concerning the synchronized photo/explosion allegation and the false identification claim. The USM refused to share any evidence concerning these two allegations with me, however, on the grounds that the proof was 'classified.' "

Hussein comes from a prominent family in Fallujah and was one of 14 children.

Gardephe's report said one brother has been taken into custody three times but was quickly released each time. It said the U.S. military has alleged that another brother is active in an insurgent group located outside of Iraq; however, the AP report said he left Iraq because he was threatened by insurgents after he had joined a pro-coalition police force.

"In the more than 40 hours I spent with Hussein, I saw no hint of religious, sectarian, or ideological extremism," Gardephe wrote. "Instead, I found a fairly sophisticated man who had thought deeply about the ethics of his trade."

The report said the lack of evidence linking Hussein to the insurgency suggests that he is being detained because of his work as a photojournalist.

"Hussein's interrogators have repeatedly alluded to the photographs he took as the basis for his incarceration," the report said. "Interrogators have focused, in particular, on several photographs taken shortly before his arrest showing Iraqi children playing with the torn-off leg of an injured U.S. or Iraqi soldier."

The report quoted one interrogator as saying to Hussein: "Do you know what would happen if these photos were shown in the U.S.? There would be huge demonstrations and we would have to leave Iraq. ... Your photos present a threat to us."

None of those photographs was distributed by the AP.

Numerous other photojournalists have been detained in Iraq, but few have been held more than a few months.

Hussein's continued detention "cannot be justified," the AP report said. "He has not been interrogated since mid-May 2006; there is no credible evidence that he was an active participant in the insurgency; and journalists with known connections to the insurgents have been released."

"In light of these factors," the report concluded, "we request that the USM release Hussein after reviewing the facts ... and carefully considering Hussein's extensive photographic production."