Another journalist is held without any charge by the American military forces. According to a recent press release by the Committee to Protect Journalists, Canadian TV journalist Jawed Ahmad has been arrested and detained by the US military forces at Bagram Air Base near Kabul in Afghanistan.
Ahmad, who is only 22 years old, has been detained since October 2007 according to his brother Siddique Ahmad. From the CPJ press release (Read the full text below):
Siddique told CPJ that Ahmad said he was called to meet his CTV colleagues at Kandahar airport and then arrested. It is unclear who called him. CTV confirmed that Workman was in Kandahar at the time, but said that the correspondent had not planned to meet with Ahmad on that day. Ahmad told Siddique that he was being held because the U.S. military believed he had contacts with local Taliban leaders and was in possession of a video of Taliban materials, Siddique said.
Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders has called on U.S. defense secretary Robert M. Gates to intercede on behalf of this young journalist. (Read full text of RSF press release below).
"We call on US defence secretary Robert M. Gates to intercede on behalf of this young Afghan reporter who is clearly the victim of an arbitrary decision," the press freedom organisation said. "The lack of legal procedures and material evidence confirms that his detention is unjustified. We point out that it is not illegal for journalists to have professional contacts with all parties to a conflict including, in Afghanistan, the Taliban."
According to New York Times reporter Carlotta Gall, who knew Ahmad from her trips to Kandahar, Ahmad had only worked in journalism for one year. From the AP article:
"All of the local press corps have numbers of the Taliban and interview them regularly," she told the CPJ. "Jawed had nothing more than the others in the way of contacts with the Taliban."
With this, Ahmad becomes the third journalist to be held by U.S. forces in the Middle East. Al Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Hajj has been detained in Guantanamo since December 2001 and Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein was arrested in April 2006.
Any comments? Please post them below.
Earlier on SAJAForum:
- Journalist gunned down in Quetta
- Pakistan Deports Reporter Nicolas Schmidle
- CPJ on Attacks on Press in 2007 in South Asia
- Afghani Journalist Faces Death Sentence for Blasphemy
- Nepali Journalist's Hand Cut Off
- Two Nepalese Dailies Disrupted by Maoists
- Cartoonist Jailed Over Mohammad Cartoons
- 25 Journalists Killed in South Asia During 2007
Full text from CPJ press release:
Afghan journalist detained at Bagram Air Base
New York, February 18, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is greatly concerned by the detention of Canadian Television (CTV) journalist Jawed Ahmad by U.S. military forces at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, for almost three months without charge.
Ahmad, who is also known as Jojo Yazemi and is about 22 years old, was detained in Kandahar at the end of October 2007, according to his brother, Siddique Ahmad. Siddique, who spoke with CPJ through a translator by phone from Afghanistan, said that he had last communicated with his detained brother via a video link provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross in Kabul on January 29. CTV officials say they believe Ahmad was detained on October 25, which was when Siddique called correspondent Paul Workman, Ahmad’s colleague near Kandhahar, to tell him of his detention.
“We are deeply troubled that Jawed Ahmad has been secluded in a U.S. military base for nearly three months without charge,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “The United States military must explain the reason for his detention and accord him due process. If he is not charged with any crime then he must be released immediately.”
Siddique told CPJ that Ahmad said he was called to meet his CTV colleagues at Kandahar airport and then arrested. It is unclear who called him. CTV confirmed that Workman was in Kandahar at the time, but said that the correspondent had not planned to meet with Ahmad on that day. Ahmad told Siddique that he was being held because the U.S. military believed he had contacts with local Taliban leaders and was in possession of a video of Taliban materials, Siddique said.
CTV expressed their concern that their efforts on Ahmad’s behalf have not resulted in his release. “Since his disappearance in late October, CTV News has been deeply concerned about Jojo Yazemi’s whereabouts and well being. CTV News has made inquires to NATO, Canadian, and U.S. military officials. No information has been forthcoming. CTV News has also made representations to the International Committee of the Red Cross and diplomatic channels including the Canadian Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan,” Robert Hurst, president of CTV News, told CPJ in an e-mail message.
Lt. Col. Mark Wright, on the Press Operations, Afghanistan Desk, at the U.S. Department of Defense, responded to a CPJ e-mail request Friday, saying that he had recently learned of Ahmad’s case but would have to investigate further. So far, the Department of Defense has not provided any follow-up information.
Ahmad had only worked in journalism for one year, according to New York Times correspondent Carlotta Gall, who knows both him and Siddique from her reporting trips to Kandahar. “All of the local press corps have numbers of the Taliban and interview them regularly,” she told CPJ. “Jawed had nothing more than the others in the way of contacts with the Taliban,” she said.
Gall said Ahmad had also worked before that as a translator for the U.S. military and later for a security company in Kandahar. “I have known him for some years from my many reporting trips to Kandahar. Jawed is well known among the local Kandahar press corps, as is Siddique, who worked sometimes as a driver for journalists staying at the Continental Guesthouse in Kandahar,” Gall said in a message to CPJ.
CPJ is a New York–based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit www.cpj.org.
Bob Dietz bdietz@cpj.org
Asia Program CoordinatorMadeline Earp mearp@cpj.org
Asia Program ResearcherCommittee to Protect Journalists
330 Seventh Ave, 11th floor
New York, NY 10001
+1 212 465 1004
www.cpj.org
Full text from the RSF press release:
Reporters Without Borders/Reporters sans frontières
www.rsf-persan.org19 February 2008
AFGHANISTAN
ROBERT M. GATES ASKED TO INTERCEDE ON BEHALF OF AFGHAN JOURNALIST HELD BY US MILITARY AT BAGRAMReporters Without Borders is concerned about Jawed Ahmad, an Afghan journalist employed by Canadian Television (CTV), who has been held by the US military at Bagram airbase, north of Kabul, since November 2007. The Americans are holding him without trial because of his contacts with the Taliban as a journalist.
"We call on US defence secretary Robert M. Gates to intercede on behalf of this young Afghan reporter who is clearly the victim of an arbitrary decision," the press freedom organisation said. "The lack of legal procedures and material evidence confirms that his detention is unjustified. We point out that it is not illegal for journalists to have professional contacts with all parties to a conflict including, in Afghanistan, the Taliban."
The US military are currently holding at least two other journalists - Al-Jazeera cameraman Sami Al-Haj, in Guantanamo, and Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, in Iraq.
Aged 22 and also known by the pseudonym of Jojo Yazemi, Ahmad was arrested by US soldiers in an airbase in the southern city of Kandahar where he was accompanying Canadian journalists working for CTV. The US soldiers accused him of having the numbers of Taliban leaders in his mobile phone and of interviewing them.
His brother, Siddique Ahmad, told Reporters Without Borders that, with the help of the International Red Cross, he was able to talk to him by video link on 29 January. He said he had been beaten and had lost weight since being held in Bagram. CTV has also confirmed that he is being held.
The detention centre at Bagram airbase has often being criticised for its harsh conditions and mistreatment of prisoners. The New York Times reported in 2005 that two detainees, who were later cleared, were beaten to death there by guards in 2002.
-------------------------------
AFGHANISTAN
REPORTERS SANS FRONTIÈRES DEMANDE À ROBERT GATES D'INTERVENIR EN FAVEUR D'UN JOURNALISTE AFGHAN DÉTENU PAR L'ARMÉE AMÉRICAINE À BAGRAMReporters sans frontières est préoccupée par la situation de Jawed Ahmad, journaliste afghan travaillant pour la chaîne Canadian Television (CTV), détenu par l'armée américaine depuis novembre 2007, sur la base aérienne de Bagram, au nord de Kaboul. L'armée américaine le détient sans jugement, en raison de contacts supposés avec des taliban.
"Nous demandons au secrétaire d'Etat américain à la Défense, Robert M. Gates, d'intervenir en faveur du jeune reporter afghan qui est, selon toute vraisemblance, victime d'une détention arbitraire et injustifiée, sans preuves matérielles. Nous tenons à rappeler que les contacts professionnels établis par des journalistes avec toutes les parties du conflit, notamment les taliban, ne sont pas répréhensibles", a déclaré Reporters sans frontières.
Au moins deux autres reporters sont détenus par l'armée américaine : Sami Al-Haj, cameraman de la chaîne qatarie Al-Jazira, à Guantanamo, et Bilal Hussein, correspondant de l'agence Associated Press, en Irak.
Le journaliste afghan, connu sous le pseudonyme de Jojo Yazemi, âgé de 22 ans, a été arrêté par des soldats américains, le 2 novembre 2007, sur la base aérienne de Kandahar (Sud), où se trouvaient ses collègues canadiens de CTV. Il lui a été reproché par des soldats américains d'avoir dans son téléphone portable les numéros de responsables talibans et de les avoir interviewés.
Dans un entretien avec Reporters sans frontières, son frère, Siddique Ahmad, qui a pu lui parler par visiophone le 29 janvier 2008 grâce à la Croix Rouge, a confirmé que Jawed avait été battu et qu'il avait perdu du poids depuis qu'il est incarcéré sur la base de Bagram. L'arrestation du journaliste a été confirmée par son employeur canadien.
Le centre de détention de la base aérienne de Bagram a été maintes fois critiqué pour ses conditions difficiles. En 2005, un article du New York Times révélait que deux détenus, ensuite innocentés, y avaient été battus à mort par leurs gardiens, en 2002.----------------
AFGANISTÁN
REPORTEROS SIN FRONTERAS PIDE A ROBERT M. GATES QUE INTERVENGA EN FAVOR DE UN PERIODISTA AFGANO DETENIDO POR EL EJÉRCITO NORTEAMERICANO EN BAGRAMReporteros sin Fronteras está muy preocupada por la situación de Jawed Ahmad, periodista afgano que trabaja para el canal Canadian Televisión (CTV), detenido por el ejército norteamericano desde noviembre de 2007 en la base aérea de Bagram, al norte de Kabul. El ejército norteamericano le mantiene detenido, sin juicio, a causa de sus supuestos contactos profesionales con los talibanes.
"Pedimos al Secretario de Estado de Defensa norteamericano, Robert M. Gates, que intervenga en favor del joven reportero afgano quien, presumiblemente, es víctima de una detención arbitraria e injustificada, acentuada por la ausencia de procedimientos legales y pruebas materiales, lo que confirma que se trata de una detención injustificada. Tenemos interés en recordar que los contactos profesionales mantenidos por los periodistas con todas las partes en conflicto, y entre ellos los talibanes, no son ilegales", ha declarado Reporteros sin Fronteras.El ejército norteamericano tiene detenidos al menos a otros dos reporteros: Sami Al-Haj, camarógrafo del canal qatarí Al-Jazira, en Guantánamo, y Bilal Hussein, corresponsal de la agencia Associated Press, en Irak.
Unos soldados norteamericanos detuvieron al periodista afgano, conocido con el pseudónimo de Jojo Yazemi, de 22 años, el 2 de noviembre de 2007 en la base aérea de Kandahar (Sur), donde se encontraban sus colegas canadienses de la CTV. Los soldados norteamericanos le acusaron de tener en su teléfono móvil los números de algunos responsables talibanes, y de haberles entrevistado.
En una entrevista con Reporteros sin Fronteras su hermano, Siddique Ahmad, que pudo hablar con él en una videoconferencia el 29 de enero de 2008 gracias a la Cruz Roja Internacional, ha confirmado que a Jawed le han pegado y que ha perdido peso desde que se encuentra internado en la base de Bagram. La detención del periodista ha sido confirmada por su empresario canadiense.El centro de detención de la base aérea de Bagram ha recibido numerosas críticas por sus difíciles condiciones de detención, y por los malos tratos que en él reciben los presos. En 2005, un artículo del New York Times revelaba que dos detenidos, absueltos posteriormente, fueron golpeados de muerte por sus guardianes en 2002.
--
Vincent Brossel
Asia - Pacific Desk
Reporters Sans Frontières
47 rue Vivienne
75002 Paris
33 1 44 83 84 70
33 1 45 23 11 51 (fax)
asia@rsf.org
www.rsf.org
First I would like to say that I have been active US army for 10 years. That being said I am discusted that he was held so long. As a JOURNALIST he should have been looked at with a fine toothed comb as he was. After that his contact history investigated, again, as it was. Perhaps the entire story has not been disclosed but from this media it seems. He had contact with terrorists. If those contacts could be confirmed as journalistic I see no problem.
If there is ANY doubt he needs to be detained and those doubts investigated ASAP to either retain long term or released.
Posted by: kainzzo | September 22, 2008 at 10:32 PM
What's the requirements for being called a "journalist"? What journalism school did this guy attend and get his degree at?
Posted by: Steve | September 23, 2008 at 01:34 AM