US frees detained Iraqi cameraman

He was arrested in Baghdad on 30 July while he was in Baghdad's Green Zone government compound for routine checks for a US military press card. The US military said he was seized "because he has been assessed to be a threat to the security of Iraq and coalition forces," but did not elaborate.

They have detained Mashhadani, who also works freelance for the BBC and Washington-based National Public Radio, twice before. At one point he was held for five months, but no charge has ever been filed against the cameraman, who is based in Ramadi, capital of western Anbar province.

Editor-in-chief David Schlesinger said: "While I am pleased at Ali al-Mashhadani's release, I am extremely concerned that this was the third time he was detained without explanation.

"If there are legitimate issues about him or any other journalist, let's have them aired openly and tested. If there are none, let them pursue their profession free from intimidation and fear."

Reuters, the BBC, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists and Iraqi journalist groups had called for the military either to explain the accusations against Mashhadani or free him.

The US military says that under the UN mandate governing the presence of foreign forces in Iraq it can detain anyone considered a security risk indefinitely.

US forces have held other Iraqi reporters working for Reuters and journalists from different media groups for long periods without charging them. ■