CBS Cameraman Is Acquitted by Iraqi Court
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By VANESSA ARRINGTON Associated Press Writer
April 05,2006 | BAGHDAD, Iraq -- An Iraqi cameraman working for CBS News was acquitted Wednesday of insurgent activity, a year after being wounded and detained by the U.S. military after a car bombing.
A three-judge panel ruled there was insufficient evidence against Abdul Ameer Younis Hussein, who was filming the bombing aftermath in the northern city of Mosul when he was apprehended.
But Hussein, 25, was returned to Abu Ghraib prison pending final U.S. military approval of his release.
"I am so happy," said Hussein's brother, Mohammed Younis Hussein, who traveled from Mosul for the trial. "I have cried a lot these months, but now I feel I can rest. It's incredible."
The defendant, who wore a yellow jumpsuit, was not permitted to speak to reporters. Between appearances on the witness stand, he had to kneel on the floor in the back of the courtroom, facing a wall. A half-dozen American soldiers in full body armor stood nearby, guarding him and other Iraqi defendants, who also faced the wall.
CBS staff in Baghdad and the U.S. military had no immediate comment on the acquittal. Hussein could have faced life in prison if convicted.
Scott Horton, one of his American lawyers, said the U.S. military claimed Hussein had prior knowledge of the car bombing and celebrated with other Iraqis in the aftermath, chanting "God is Great!"
But prosecutors acknowledged there was not enough evidence and moved to drop the case.
In testimony to the panel, Hussein said he was filming a celebration at a university in Mosul in April 2005 when he heard a car bomb explode. He said he called a colleague at a French news agency to find out more about the location, then raced to the site in a taxi.
He encountered American troops surrounding the area and waited until they cleared to go in and film, he said. After getting some footage, he said he heard people start yelling there were snipers in the area and he felt a shot.
"They shot me in the hip," he said of the American troops. "I tried to stand up, but I couldn't."
After five minutes, troops arrived and took him to the hospital.
"All the time they were cursing me, and calling me a terrorist," he said. "I kept saying, 'I'm not a terrorist. I'm a correspondent.'"
The U.S. military alleged that Hussein was standing near a man waving a gun and inciting the crowd after the bombing. Hussein denied that.
Reporters Without Borders in Paris said Hussein was the fourth journalist released by the U.S. military in Iraq this year and no other journalists are known to be held by American forces there at this time.
Posted by marga at April 5, 2006 08:49 AM | TrackBack