URGENT ACTION

independent journalist detained in baghdad

Independent journalist Nadir Dendoune was arrested in Baghdad, Iraq, on 23 January. He was arrested for taking pictures without prior approval from the authorities. He appeared before the Central Criminal Court on 5 February but has not yet been charged. He is detained in an intelligence detention facility pending investigation.

Algerian-French-Australian journalist Nadir Dendoune (40) was arrested on 23 January in al-Dura, a southern neighbourhood of Baghdad. He was taking photographs of the Iraqi Intelligence Headquarters, as well as army and police checkpoints, according to Iraqi officials. Nadir Dendoune was in Bahgdad to report for the French monthly publication Le Monde Diplomatique, on the upcoming tenth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq.

According to information gathered by Amnesty International, Nadir Dendoune appeared before a judge behind closed doors in the Central Criminal Court in Baghdad on 5 February in a session that lasted 30 minutes; however, the French Consulate in Iraq was allowed to observe the hearing. He is yet to be charged, and the judge has extended his detention until the end of the investigation. He is currently being held in an intelligence detention facility and told reporters after his court appearance that “Trying to keep in good spirits is not so simple…but I am being treated well at the moment.”

Journalists in Baghdad are required to seek prior approval from the authorities if they wish to take photographs at checkpoints, and of soldiers and policemen. During his court appearance Nadir Dendoune reportedly said that he had done nothing wrong and that authorities were aware of the nature of his work, and his visa for Iraq had been handed to him by the Iraqi Ambassador to France.

Please write immediately in Arabic, English or your own language:

Urging the Iraqi authorities to release Nadir Dendoune immediately unless he is charged with a recognisable criminal offence;

Urging them to protect him from torture or other ill-treatment;

Urging them to uphold the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers and through any media.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 22 MARCH TO DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATIVES OF IRAQ IN YOUR COUNTRY AND ADDRESSED TO:

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Prime Minister

His Excellency Nuri Kamil al-Maliki,

Convention Centre (Qasr al-Ma’aridh)

Baghdad, Iraq

Email: info@pmo.iq (keep trying)

Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Justice

Hassan al-Shammari

Ministry of Justice

Baghdad, Iraq

Contactable in Arabic via web site: http://www.moj.gov.iq/complaints.php

Salutation: Your Excellency

And copies to:

Minister of Human Rights

His Excellency Mohammad Shayaa al-Sudani

Ministry of Human Rights

Baghdad, Iraq

Email: shakawa@humanrights.gov.iq

Salutation: Your Excellency

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Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

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URGENT ACTION

independent journalist detained in baghdad

ADditional Information

In the lead up to the tenth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq led by US forces, the human rights situation in the country remains alarming , despite the invasion bringing about an end to the regime of President Saddam Hussein. Over the past decade tens of thousands of civilians have been killed by armed groups, and foreign and Iraqi forces. Tens of thousands have been detained for months or years without charge or trial. Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees, particularly during interrogations, remains widespread. International fair trial standards are routinely flouted. Many defendants have reported that they were tortured and coerced into making self-incriminating statements; such “confessions” have frequently been accepted as evidence at court, including in numerous cases where people have been sentenced to death.

Name: Nadir Dendoune

Gender m/f: m

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UA: 32/13 Index: MDE DE 14/002/2013 Issue Date: 8 February 2013