Presidential Transition Team
Washington, DC 20270
January 12, 2009
Dear President-elect Obama:
I am writing as chairman of the Committee to Protect Journalists to
seek your leadership in reaffirming America's role as a staunch
defender of press freedom throughout the world. Journalists in many
countries who risk their lives and liberty upholding the values of free
expression look to the United States for support.
To assert moral authority we must first put our own house in order. I
urge you to make it a priority to end the U.S. military's practice of
open-ended detention of journalists and media support workers, and to
investigate fully the deaths of journalists from U.S. forces' fire.
The detention without trial of journalists has reduced U.S. standing in
the world and may have contributed to the overall global increase in
jailed journalists by emboldening the many tyrants who look for pretext
or justification to throw critical journalists in jail.
U.S. allies and close friends such as Azerbaijan, Egypt, Ethiopia,
Morocco, and Pakistan are among the 10 countries where press freedom
has most deteriorated, according to a CPJ survey. Others such as
Tunisia are among the top censors of news worldwide.
As Sen. Richard Lugar recently noted, The example of press freedom we
set in this country is an important beacon to guide other nations as
they make the transition from autocratic forms of government.
Or, as your former Senate colleague from Illinois, Richard Durbin,
recently said, America has long been a champion and source of hope
around the world for those suffering human rights violationsthose
holed up in dictators' prisons, those fighting for press and political
freedoms, those bravely standing up to tyranny or injustice. Sen.
Durbin went on to say, Sadly, I worry that a measure of this
leadership, of this inspiration, and of this uniquely American hope has
been lost in recent years.
This hope continues to be eroded by the U.S. military's ongoing
detention of journalists. Fourteen journalists have been held for
prolonged periods of time without due process in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
Guantanamo. One is still behind bars. Ibrahim Jassam, a freelance
photographer working for Reuters, was detained September 2 by U.S.
forces in Baghdad. On November 30, the Iraqi Central Criminal Court
ruled that there was no evidence to hold Jassam and ordered the U.S.
military to release him. However, U.S. Army Maj. Eric Larson told CPJ
in December that despite the Iraqi ruling the army could still detain
Jassam if it deemed him a security threat. Larson said a military
review would be initiated and could take up to 60 days.
Other journalists who have been held by the military without trial include:
Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi photographer, was part of The Associated Press
team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2005. Arrested in 2006, Hussein was
held for two years without being charged. In November, CPJ awarded
Hussein an International Press Freedom Award.
* Jawed Ahmad, an Afghan field producer with Canada's CTV, was detained
in 2007 at a NATO airfield near Kandahar. Ahmad was moved to Bagram Air
Base outside of Kabul and held for 11 months without being charged.
* Sami al-Haj, a Sudanese cameraman with Al-Jazeera, was arrested by
Pakistani forces in 2001 along the Afghan-Pakistani border while
covering the U.S.-led offensive to oust the Taliban. Transferred to
U.S. custody, he was moved to Guantanamo and held for six years without
being charged.
Apart from Jassam who is still in detention, all 13 journalists held by
the military were released without charge after spending weeks, months,
or years in prison. The practice violates the U.S. military's own
commitment to review journalist cases within 36 hours of detention. In
March 2006, U.S. military officials in Baghdad and Washington informed
Reuters and CPJ of a new procedure to bring quick, high-level attention
to journalist detentions to ensure that working journalists would not
be held without charge for prolonged periods. But the newly announced
procedure was apparently abandoned within months, as I outlined in a
November 2006 letter to then-Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld.
I believe the abolition of the practice of detaining journalists for
prolonged periods without due process would send a clear signal that
the United States upholds its long-standing commitment to free
expression.
That signal would be further reinforced by an unequivocal commitment by
your administration that the military will fully investigate the
killing of any journalist at the hands of U.S. forces. Since 2003, at
least 16 journalists have died and others have been seriously wounded
by U.S. forces' fire in Iraq. So far as we know, U.S. military
authorities have conducted investigations in less than a handful of
cases. The investigations exonerated the soldiers involved in each case.
Some investigations failed to reconcile questions concerning
operational command and control or contradictory statements by
witnesses. A CPJ report found that an apparent breakdown in operational
command and control contributed to the 2003 episode in which a U.S.
tank fired on the Palestine Hotel, resulting in the deaths of two
journalists. Other U.S. military investigations made specific
recommendations to avoid a repetition of such incidents, including a
review of the rules of engagement and improvements to
command-and-control and checkpoint procedures. CPJ and Human Rights
Watch together raised concerns about checkpoint security in a 2005
letter to Secretary Rumsfeld. But it remains unclear whether, or to
what degree, the U.S. military has implemented its own or other
recommendations.
Moreover, the U.S. military has yet to make public investigations
concerning most other journalist cases involving U.S. forces. They
include the 2003 airstrike on the Al-Jazeera television network's
Baghdad bureau that killed correspondent Tareq Ayyoub.
The Pentagon should undertake a thorough and timely investigation into
the death of any journalist by U.S. forces' fire. The results of such
inquiries should be made public and the lessons drawn from it should be
incorporated into operating procedures.
I also ask you to encourage the military to include procedures for
heightened awareness among soldiers encountering journalists in the
field. As U.S. troops find themselves increasingly engaged in
confrontations with foes that operate deeply immersed within the
civilian population, they must be trained to accept the presence of
local journalists who have a legitimate right to cover the conflict.
Far too often CPJ gets reports from local journalists in countries such
as Afghanistan and Iraq of verbal and sometimes physical abuse by U.S.
troops.
The Committee to Protect Journalists is a nonpartisan, nonprofit
organization that accepts no government funds as it works to defend
press freedom globally. Since CPJ was founded in 1981 by U.S.
journalists concerned about their colleagues overseas, the overwhelming
majority of our work has focused on defending journalists working in
some of the most repressive conditions around the world.
The greatest threats to press freedom are twofold. One is the
alarmingly high rate of impunity for murdering journalists worldwide:
Nearly three out of four journalists killed in the line of duty are
murdered, and the killers are unpunished in nearly nine of 10 cases.
The other is the common incarceration of journalists for doing their
jobs: No less than 125 journalists were in prison around the world as
of December 1, 2008. Nearly half of those imprisoned are online
journalists; they are now detained more often than journalists working
in any other medium. CPJ focuses on these issues, along with many other
forms of restrictions on press freedom around the world.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of Washington's resolute
defense of media freedom at this time of growing repression,
censorship, and attacks on journalists around the world. I encourage
you to make press freedom integral to both your domestic and foreign
policy. As Thomas Jefferson noted, Our liberty depends on freedom of
the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.
This hope continues to be eroded by the U.S. military's ongoing
detention of journalists. Fourteen journalists have been held for
prolonged periods of time without due process in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
Guantanamo. One is still behind bars. Ibrahim Jassam, a freelance
photographer working for Reuters, was detained September 2 by U.S.
forces in Baghdad. On November 30, the Iraqi Central Criminal Court
ruled that there was no evidence to hold Jassam and ordered the U.S.
military to release him. However, U.S. Army Maj. Eric Larson told CPJ
in December that despite the Iraqi ruling the army could still detain
Jassam if it deemed him a security threat. Larson said a military
review would be initiated and could take up to 60 days.
Other journalists who have been held by the military without trial include:
* Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi photographer, was part of The Associated
Press team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2005. Arrested in 2006, Hussein
was held for two years without being charged. In November, CPJ awarded
Hussein an International Press Freedom Award.
* Jawed Ahmad, an Afghan field producer with Canada's CTV, was detained
in 2007 at a NATO airfield near Kandahar. Ahmad was moved to Bagram Air
Base outside of Kabul and held for 11 months without being charged.
* Sami al-Haj, a Sudanese cameraman with Al-Jazeera, was arrested by
Pakistani forces in 2001 along the Afghan-Pakistani border while
covering the U.S.-led offensive to oust the Taliban. Transferred to
U.S. custody, he was moved to Guantanamo and held for six years without
being charged.
Apart from Jassam who is still in detention, all 13 journalists held by
the military were released without charge after spending weeks, months,
or years in prison. The practice violates the U.S. military's own
commitment to review journalist cases within 36 hours of detention. In
March 2006, U.S. military officials in Baghdad and Washington informed
Reuters and CPJ of a new procedure to bring quick, high-level attention
to journalist detentions to ensure that working journalists would not
be held without charge for prolonged periods. But the newly announced
procedure was apparently abandoned within months, as I outlined in a
November 2006 letter to then-Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld.
I believe the abolition of the practice of detaining journalists for
prolonged periods without due process would send a clear signal that
the United States upholds its long-standing commitment to free
expression.
That signal would be further reinforced by an unequivocal commitment by
your administration that the military will fully investigate the
killing of any journalist at the hands of U.S. forces. Since 2003, at
least 16 journalists have died and others have been seriously wounded
by U.S. forces' fire in Iraq. So far as we know, U.S. military
authorities have conducted investigations in less than a handful of
cases. The investigations exonerated the soldiers involved in each case.
Some investigations failed to reconcile questions concerning
operational command and control or contradictory statements by
witnesses. A CPJ report found that an apparent breakdown in operational
command and control contributed to the 2003 episode in which a U.S.
tank fired on the Palestine Hotel, resulting in the deaths of two
journalists. Other U.S. military investigations made specific
recommendations to avoid a repetition of such incidents, including a
review of the rules of engagement and improvements to
command-and-control and checkpoint procedures. CPJ and Human Rights
Watch together raised concerns about checkpoint security in a 2005
letter to Secretary Rumsfeld. But it remains unclear whether, or to
what degree, the U.S. military has implemented its own or other
recommendations.
Moreover, the U.S. military has yet to make public investigations
concerning most other journalist cases involving U.S. forces. They
include the 2003 airstrike on the Al-Jazeera television network's
Baghdad bureau that killed correspondent Tareq Ayyoub.
The Pentagon should undertake a thorough and timely investigation into
the death of any journalist by U.S. forces' fire. The results of such
inquiries should be made public and the lessons drawn from it should be
incorporated into operating procedures.
I also ask you to encourage the military to include procedures for
heightened awareness among soldiers encountering journalists in the
field. As U.S. troops find themselves increasingly engaged in
confrontations with foes that operate deeply immersed within the
civilian population, they must be trained to accept the presence of
local journalists who have a legitimate right to cover the conflict.
Far too often CPJ gets reports from local journalists in countries such
as Afghanistan and Iraq of verbal and sometimes physical abuse by U.S.
troops.
The Committee to Protect Journalists is a nonpartisan, nonprofit
organization that accepts no government funds as it works to defend
press freedom globally. Since CPJ was founded in 1981 by U.S.
journalists concerned about their colleagues overseas, the overwhelming
majority of our work has focused on defending journalists working in
some of the most repressive conditions around the world.
The greatest threats to press freedom are twofold. One is the
alarmingly high rate of impunity for murdering journalists worldwide:
Nearly three out of four journalists killed in the line of duty are
murdered, and the killers are unpunished in nearly nine of 10 cases.
The other is the common incarceration of journalists for doing their
jobs: No less than 125 journalists were in prison around the world as
of December 1, 2008. Nearly half of those imprisoned are online
journalists; they are now detained more often than journalists working
in any other medium. CPJ focuses on these issues, along with many other
forms of restrictions on press freedom around the world.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of Washington's resolute
defense of media freedom at this time of growing repression,
censorship, and attacks on journalists around the world. I encourage
you to make press freedom integral to both your domestic and foreign
policy. As Thomas Jefferson noted, Our liberty depends on freedom of
the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.
Media International
Post published in: Africa News