MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ

PRESS DESKBAGHDAD, Iraq

http://www.mnf-iraq.com

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Press Release A080414bApril 14, 2008  

Coalition forces set to release former detainee (Baghdad)

BAGHDAD –  Coalition forces have informed attorneys for AP photographer Bilal Hussein Zaidon that they intend to release Hussein from custody on April 16.

After confirming that the main charges for which Hussein was scheduled to be tried had been determined by Iraqi judicial committees to be covered by Iraq’s new Amnesty Law, the Deputy Commanding General for Detainee Operations, Multi-National Force – Iraq, Maj. Gen. Douglas M. Stone, signed the order  approving his release.

“After the action by the Iraqi judicial committees, we reviewed the circumstances of Hussein’s detention and determined that he no longer presents an imperative threat to security,” said Stone.  “I have therefore ordered that he be released from Coalition force custody.”

On Nov. 14, 2007, MNF-I notified the Associated Press, per previous arrangement, that it intended to provide evidence against Hussein to the Central Criminal Court of Iraq.  On December 9, 2007, the Iraqi judge assigned to investigate the case conducted an investigative hearing.  On March 11, 2008, the investigative judge referred the case to trial.

According to MNF-I officials, Hussein was alleged to have possessed bomb-making materials, conspired with insurgents to photograph explosions directed at Iraqi Security and Coalition forces, and offered to forge an identification card for a wanted terrorist who was being pursued by Coalition forces.  The allegations and evidence provided by MNF-I supported the main charge against Hussein, that of terrorism under Iraq’s Anti-Terrorism Law.  Under this law, as under the terrorism laws of many countries, journalistic motives are not a legal defense.

In the March 11 ruling, the Iraqi investigative judge determined that the evidence in the Iraqi criminal case against Hussein supported two separate charges which he forwarded for trial—the terrorism charge, as well as another charge of participating in kidnapping.  Due to the February passage of the Iraqi Amnesty Law, the charges against Hussein were subsequently reviewed to determine its applicability.

On April 7, the judicial committee appointed to implement Iraq’s Amnesty Law dismissed the main charge of terrorism against Hussein.  Under the Amnesty Law, acts of terrorism are subject to amnesty if they do not result in killing or permanent disability.  Following the April 7 order, Hussein remained in Coalition custody under a second Iraqi charge alleging that Hussein had participated in a kidnapping.  His detention in coalition custody continued under authorities granted to MNF-I under international law.

On April 13, a separate Iraqi judicial committee concluded that the second charge should also be dismissed.

The Amnesty Law, by its own terms, applies only to criminal cases before Iraqi courts, and does not apply to those persons detained in Coalition custody as security detainees in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1790. 

The amnesty panel’s determinations are based only on the charges, and not the evidence in each case.  A finding that amnesty applies is not an acquittal, but a determination that the alleged misconduct, whether proved or not, will be excused by the Government of Iraq in order to serve the purposes of the Amnesty Law.

Stone stated that the MNF-I determination in Hussein’s case was based on the specific information in his file, as well as improvements in the security situation that have lessened the threat posed by a release in this case.

“The decision to detain is based on an assessment of the threat the individual poses to the security of Iraq,” said Stone.  “These determinations will continue to be made on a case-by-case basis and as a separate action from any determination of amnesty.”