BAGHDAD — An Iraqi judicial committee has dismissed terrorism-related allegations against Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein and ordered him released nearly two years after he was detained by the U.S. military.
Hussein, 36, remained in custody Wednesday near Baghdad’s airport.
A decision by a four-judge panel said Hussein’s case falls under a new amnesty law. It ordered Iraqi courts to “cease legal proceedings” and ruled that Hussein should be “immediately” released unless other accusations are pending.
It was unclear, however, whether Hussein would still face further obstacles to release. U.S. military authorities have said a U.N. Security Council mandate allows them to retain custody of a detainee they believe is a security risk.
Hussein has been held by the U.S. military since April 12, 2006. He was detained in Ramadi, where, he has maintained, he was only doing the work of a professional news photographer in a war zone.
The U.S. military claims he was in possession of bomb- making material, conspired with insurgents to take photographs synchronized with an explosion and offered to secure a forged ID for a terrorist evading capture by the military.
