Bilal Hussein

Bilal Hussein is an Iraqi Associated Press photojournalist based in Fallujah, Iraq. He was arrested in Ramadi by U.S. forces in April 2006 and detained on suspicion of aiding insurgents in Iraq. He was taken into custody to face charges in the Iraqi Central Court, reportedly over the circumstances of his photos, which were supplied by the U.S. military. American and Iraqi governments were criticized for violating the Geneva Conventions, and for detaining Hussein without evidence. He was finally released without charge in 2008. That year, Hussein won an International Press Freedom Award.

One of his photographs was among a group of 20 Associated Press photographs that won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. His was an image of four insurgents in Fallujah firing a mortar and small arms during the U.S.-led offensive in the city in November 2004. Hussein was taken into U.S. custody on April 12, 2006 in Ramadi, Iraq, and had since been held without charge. On November 20, 2007, the US military announced that they would soon be bringing criminal charges against Hussein, and would be turning the case over to Iraqi judges. On April 9, 2008 an Iraqi judicial panel ordered Hussein's release, ruling (according to the AP) that he was covered by an Iraqi amnesty law. On April 14, 2008 the US military announced it would release Hussein from custody by April 16 of that year, saying only that "he no longer presents an imperative threat to security".

Background Hussein is an Iraqi citizen and shopkeeper who in 2003 was living with his family in Fallujah, where he sold cell phones and computers. During the Iraq War, the Associated Press (AP) hired him as a general helper because of his local knowledge, in what is described as a typical path for locally hired staff in the middle of a conflict. He photographed "not only the results of the attacks on Fallujah, [but] also ... members of the insurgency on occasion," according to Lyon. The military also claimed that Hussein was found with two insurgents, including Hamid Hamad Motib, an alleged leader of al-Qaida terrorists in Iraq.

Kathleen Carroll, AP's executive editor, argued that Hussein's being found with insurgents did not mean that he was one of them.

Ending of legal proceedings On April 7, 2008 an Iraqi court found that Bilal Hussein's case fell under an existing amnesty regulation. It directed the prosecutor to "cease legal proceedings" and ordered Hussein's "immediate" release unless other charges were pending. A Pentagon spokesman said that the decision on Hussein's release would be made by "officials" in Iraq, "based upon their assessment as to whether he remains a threat."

Award In 2008, Hussein won an International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists. The award is given for journalists who show courage in defending press freedom in the face of attacks, threats or imprisonment.