US Military Says Detained Afghan Journalist Has Been Designated an Enemy Combatant
ALISA TANG
AP News
A journalist for a Canadian TV network who has been held for four months without being charged has been designated an unlawful enemy combatant, the U.S. military said Wednesday.
CTV journalist Jawed Ahmad, an Afghan, was allowed to make a statement before an enemy combatant review board, which determined there was credible information to detain him because he was dangerous to foreign troops and the Afghan government, said Maj. Chris Belcher, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition.
Ahmad is being held at the military compound in Bagram, 30 miles north of Kabul.
"As an unlawful enemy combatant, he posed a threat to coalition forces and the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Mr. Ahmad was in no way targeted because of his work as a journalist," Belcher told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
He declined to provide details about the "credible information" and would not say if Ahmad had more contact with militants than other journalists working in Afghanistan. It is common for journalists in the country to have contact information of Taliban fighters so they can seek militants' comments for news stories.
Ahmad, 22, who is also known as Jojo Yazemi, was detained Oct. 26 at a NATO air base in the southern city of Kandahar, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based group. He was later transferred to a detention center at the U.S. military base in Bagram, north of Kabul.
Keep Reading...Punditman says... Never mind all these arbitrary detentions without charge...oh, and all that torture stuff too. Just always remember that the USA is fighting for democracy, freedom and the rule of law. Now get back to your sitcom.
