Reuters freelance photographer kept in US prison in Iraq

The US military has rejected an Iraqi court ruling to release freelance photographer Ibrahim Jassam Mohammed and will continue to detain the journalist in a prison near Baghdad.

Jassam, who was working for Reuters and other Iraqi news media at the time of his detention in September, was cleared for release on November 30 by the Central Criminal Court of Iraq (CCCI), which said there was no evidence for keeping him at the US-controlled Camp Cropper prison.

According to a report from Reuters, Major Neal Fisher, spokesman for the US military's detainee operations in Iraq, said Jassam remained 'a threat to Iraq security and stability'.

The freelancer is now scheduled for release after December 31, but as a result of the CCCI's decision will not have to appear in court before being freed, explained Fisher.

Despite calls by the CCCI for the US military to produce evidence against Jassam, Fisher said the US military was 'not bound' to provide such intelligence to Iraqi courts.

He has also refused to arrange a meeting between the news agency and the US commander of the prisons operation to discuss Jassam's detention, Reuters reported. The commander should not be asked to make Jassam's case more important than that of the 15,800 detainees currently being held by the US military in Iraq, he said.

The news organisation and international media rights groups have challenged the speed with which the US military deals with cases involving journalists covering acts of violence.

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