Bilal Week: Latest Developments

As we reported on PDNOnline, the U.S. military plans to formally turn AP photographer Bilal Hussein over to the Iraqi court system this week. There have been several developments in the last few days:

* The AP has released a lengthy report prepared by attorney Paul Gardephe, who is working on Hussein's behalf. The report says the allegations against Hussein are either vague or unsupported by evidence, and argues that Hussein conducted himself as a professional journalist, not as a supporter of the insurgency.

* On Saturday, The Washington Post published an op-ed column by AP President and CEO Tom Curley about Hussein's situation. Curley concludes that Hussein's case "is a poor example — and not the first of its kind — of the way our government honors the democratic principles and values it says it wants to share with the Iraqi people."

* Still unclear is why Hussein is being charged now. In a Harpers article, Scott Horton quotes an anonymous Pentagon source saying, "after more than a year and a half of holding this man in prison, it was not possible simply to release him, because that would mean admitting that a mistake was made."

* The AP continues to post updates on its Bilal Hussein web page.

* MSNBC has a slide show of Hussein's photos.

PDN will be covering Hussein's story as it unfolds.