Jawed Ahmad released von From US Base in Bagram
The Intern ational Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is relieved to learn that the United States Department of Defence has finally released journalist Jawed Ahmad, who had been held without charge at Bagram air base in Afghanistan since last October.
Ahmad was on assignment for Canadian Television (CTV) when he was arrested by US military forces at Kandahar and accused of having contacts with local Taliban leaders and possessing a video containing Taliban materials. He was designated an “enemy combatant”.
The Afghan Independent Journalists’ Association (AIJA), an IFJ affiliate, reports the 22-year-old was released unconditionally on September 22 after legal action in the US by the International Human Rights Clinic of Stanford Law School’s Mills Legal Clinic, the International Justice Network, along with the Afghanistan Human Rights Organisation.
The lawsuit filed in the US District Court in June against US President George Bush and Secretary of Defence Robert Gates asked the court to compel the President and the US military to establish a lawful basis for Ahmad’s detention or to release him immediately.
“When reporting in conflict zones, journalists need to be able to gather information from all sides without threat of being labelled an enemy by one side or another,” IFJ Asia -Pacific said.
“Jawed Ahmad was held for a year without charge because he was doing his job as a journalist, which is to gather information from all sides to provide balanced and fair coverage. He should never have been detained, and his long-overdue release proves it.”
Ahmed was held virtually incommunicado and without access to a lawyer. His family and lawyers were not provided with basic information about his condition. As late as June, the AIJA reported that US officials were denying knowledge of Ahmad’s situation.
On his release this week, the coalition forces at Bagram issued Ahmad with letters stating that he was not considered a risk to the US military in Afghanistan , the AIJA reports.
On his release, Ahmad said: “I am free from hell and today is my victory. After 11 months of being held in cell that was a like a grave, I want to tell the world the story of my detention and I hope that the stories of others held at Bagram will also see the light of day.”
Ahmed, who is now with his family in Kandahar, told the AIJA that he was never given a reason for his detention and military personnel had told him they believed he was innocent.
The IFJ joins the AIJA and the Committee to Protect Afghan Journalists (CPAJ) in praising the efforts of Ahmad’s legal team and others to secure his release.