Press Releases

10/08/2007


Videotape returned to AP

BAGHDAD (AP) _ The U.S. military returned a videotape and digital camera memory card Monday that American soldiers had seized last week from an AP Television News cameraman.

The tape and card were taken without explanation from Ayad M. Abd Ali at the scene of an insurgent attack against the Polish ambassador in Baghdad. The ambassador, Gen. Edward Pietrzyk, suffered burns and was evacuated by helicopter.
After photographing the attack's aftermath and the rescue activities, Abd Ali was detained by U.S. troops for about 40 minutes in spite of having shown the soldiers a valid U.S.-issued press credential and identification.

He says he was never told why he was handcuffed, blindfolded and put in a Humvee, or why the tape and film were taken. Subsequent contact with the U.S. military also has failed to produce a clear explanation for the military's actions.

Other news organizations shot video and still photographs of the scene and had no apparent difficulty.

At least three people were killed in Wednesday's attack and 10 others, including four Polish security agents, were wounded. The ambassador was sent home to Poland, where he is in a medically induced coma to reduce suffering while the burns heal.

The AP informed U.S. military authorities about the tape confiscation shortly after the incident.
Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl, a spokesman for military operations in Baghdad, said he would check into it and initially cited a recent Iraqi law that makes it illegal for news photographers to take images at the scene of militant attacks.

On Thursday morning, Bleichwehl said he had not intended to imply American soldiers were enforcing Iraqi laws. He said checks through the ranks had determined the tape and memory card had not been confiscated.

Shortly after that call, however, Bleichwehl telephoned again to say the tape and memory card had been found in the possession of U.S. troops and that the materials would be returned quickly. They were handed back Monday evening, without any erasures or deletions.

An attorney for The Associated Press said he was dismayed by the incident. "We're glad to have it back, but it should never have been seized in the first place," said Dave Tomlin, associate general counsel for the news cooperative. "We plan to ask for assurances that soldiers aren't actually being told to harass journalists and interfere with newsgathering."
Maj. Sean Ryan, a spokesman for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, arranged the return of the tape and memory card. He said he hoped it would not happen again.

Iraqi police have been known to confiscate materials from photographers who arrive after an attack or bombing has occurred, but it has been rare for U.S. troops to seize journalists' materials.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.