THE TROUBLE IS WITH GOOD JOURNALISTS LIKE TAYSIR, IS THAT PEOPLE
IN POSITIONS OF POWER AND AUTHORITY DO NOT LIKE THEM.
FPF-fwd. from Rory Winter
As you may know, Taysir Hussain has just been sentenced to 7
year's imprisonment in Spain. He was only doing his job as a
news reporter. Please use your extensive audience in order to
publicize his case and defend his freedom.
Thanks, Rory Winter (Scotland)
FPF "Shame on Spain" also published in Madrid - Url.:
http://tinyurl.com/84tfu
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Taysir Alluni: A reporter behind bars
Tuesday 25 January 2005, 12:36 Makka Time, 9:36 GMT - Url.:
http://tinyurl.com/4u9zo
Some images from Afghanistan were too distressing to show
Related:
Taysir Alluni could never have suspected that the 9/11 attacks
and the US war against Afghanistan in its hunt for al-Qaida and
Taliban leaders would dramatically change his life.
Alluni, who began his career as an Arabic translator for a news
agency in Granada, Spain, is credited as being the only
journalist based in Afghanistan in October 2001 to show the
world what the US war machine was doing to one of the world's
poorest countries.
By then working for Aljazeera, Alluni was able to capture images
of civilian victims in the destitute villages of Afghanistan and
the miserable streets of Kabul. His coverage triggered
international outrage over the US action in Afghanistan.
Alluni's work in that war-torn country came to an end when US
forces bombed Aljazeera's Kabul office just hours before the
Northern Alliance entered the Afghan capital. While many say the
office was deliberately targeted, Aljazeera keeps an open mind,
while still asking for an official investigation.
Alluni left Kabul shortly before his office was bombed,
following the Taliban retreat and reporting on it. Much of what
he witnessed was too distressing to show and he was himself
assaulted. "Scenes that, I'm sorry, I could not describe to
anybody," he said.
Beaten and mugged, Alluni has not said who attacked him but
described the incident as leaving him "in deep psychological
shock".
Back to Qatar
Alluni returned to Doha, Qatar, exhausted and with mixed
emotions.
In-depth coverage of Alluni's case
<http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/127CA659-BC10-4E1C-9EB2-51744C2197D7
.htm>
Although professionally satisfied at being able to report the
war - reportage
that earned him international recognition - the images of
suffering were painful to carry.
A respected member of staff, the appreciation he received from
his colleagues back in Doha helped Alluni recover from his stint
in Afghanistan and surgery he underwent in the Qatari capital.
To war zone once more
Despite his deteriorating health, Alluni headed to Baghdad in
the second week of the US war on Iraq in March 2003 on his next
assignment. While reporting there, he once more narrowly escaped
a US bombardment. That he survived the US bombing of the
Aljazeera Baghdad bureau is little short of a miracle. Aljazeera
continues to pursue an official response to this attack - an
onslaught that killed his colleague, Aljazeera reporter Tariq
Ayub.
Behind bars
When US President George Bush officially declared the Iraq war
over, Alluni chose Spain as his destination for a holiday,
thinking that his Spanish citizenship would help him avoid
harassment and facilitate his movements.
Taysir Alluni has a serious heart condition and has had surgery
His hopes proved to be unfounded. Syrian-born Alluni, a father
of five, was arrested in September 2003 at his home in Granada.
He is accused of being a member of a group in Spain belonging to
al-Qaida. Alluni was bailed on medical grounds about a month
later. He has a serious heart condition.
However, he was re-arrested in November 2003 for fear he may
flee the country while awaiting trial.
He remains behind bars, a situation that has sparked outrage
among Arab human rights groups, journalists and colleagues, who
describe this controversial prosecution of this very modern Arab
icon as nothing more than an attack on the freedom of the press.
FPF-fwd.: THE TROUBLE IS WITH GOOD JOURNALISTS LIKE TAYSIR,
PEOPLE IN POSITIONS OF POWER AND AUTHORITY DO NOT LIKE THEM.
Why it is your duty to help Alluni
By Yvonne Ridley
Wednesday 17 September 2003, 19:16 Makka Time,
Send your emails to Garzon to complain about this grave
miscarriage of justice
Related:
I have never met Taysir Alluni but I have thought a lot about
him over these last few days.
In fact we both have quite a lot in common even though we are
from very different backgrounds. Apart from working for
Aljazeera we both share a great passion and dedication for the
job that we do. We have also experienced what it is like to come
under fire from Britain and America being the only journalists
in Kabul on the night of 7 October 2001 when the bombing of
Afghanistan began.
I was locked in a Taliban prison cell in the capital while
Taysir was free to cover the start of George Bush's war on
terror. He had a near miss when a missile smashed into his
Afghan office and I had a lucky escape when I was set free.
Incarcerated
Sadly, we now have something else in common. We have both been
incarcerated … for doing nothing more than the job we love. My
ordeal at the hands of the Taliban lasted only 10 days and I
pray that Taysir's imprisonment in Spain will not be for much
longer. There is no greater punishment for a journalist than to
be caged and isolated from the outside world because a few
people do not like the news you produce. I can't begin to tell
you how wretched and isolated he will be feeling … wondering if
anyone outside the prison walls really cares about his plight.
He will be confused and angry wondering how this could happen to
him. And indeed, we should all ask that question and demand an
answer.
Loved or loathed
HE WILL BE WONDERING WHEN THE NIGHTMARE IS GOING TO END.
No convincing evidence has been produced against Taysir by the
Spanish authorities other than wild accusations just because he
is one of the few journalists to have interviewed Usama bin
Ladin.
NO JOURNALIST WORTH HIS SALT WOULD TURN DOWN AN INTERVIEW WITH
THIS MAN
Loved or loathed, there is not one single journalist worth his
or her salt, who would turn down THAT interview. Just for the
record, I have been trying since 1998 to interview UBL, and I
can tell you now Taysir could not have achieved his goal without
lots of hard work, effort, contact-building and sleepless nights
… the hallmarks of a good journalist.
THE TROUBLE IS WITH GOOD JOURNALISTS LIKE TAYSIR, PEOPLE IN
POSITIONS OF POWER AND AUTHORITY DO NOT LIKE THEM.
They fear their integrity and do not want the truth to be
brought to their breakfast table or, more importantly, anyone
else’s including yours. These people want to control the media
and censor the news to stop you from finding out what is really
happening in our world today.
Human rights
Good journalists make many enemies and I am sure Taysir is no
exception. I’d like to bet that it is because of these enemies
that he is now in the fix he is in. The Spanish authorities are
allowing themselves to be used in this mindless, endless war on
terror where human rights are being carpet-bombed on an almost
daily basis. Investigative magistrate Baltasar Garzon has
formally accused Taysir, a Syrian-born Spaniard, of terrorist
activity, and ordered him to be held without bail. This blatant
abuse of human rights could continue for up to four years.
THE TRUTH IS BALTASAR GARZON HAS BEEN FED FALSE INFORMATION
DELIVERED BY INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES FROM ISRAEL AND THE UNITED
STATES – THE VERY SAME TWO COUNTRIES WHICH PRODUCED A DODGY
DOSSIER ON ME TO TRY AND CONVINCE THE TALIBAN I WAS ALSO UP TO
NO GOOD.
Dodgy dossier
Thankfully, the Taliban were clever enough to see through this
clumsy attempt to blacken my reputation. I just can't understand
why the Spanish authorities are taking so long over this latest
dodgy dossier. Taysir's arrest is illegal, unethical and
outrageous. If it can happen to him, it can just as easily
happen to you.
PLEASE E-MAIL JUDGE GARZON AT HIS PERSONAL ADDRESS:
B.GARZON@AN.MJU.ES AND DEMAND TAYSIR’S IMMEDIATE RELEASE.
Do this not just to help Taysir, but do it for our right to
simply tell the truth and for your right to be heard.
*Yvonne Ridley is a senior editor at Aljazeera.net, a founding
member of Women in Journalism, a member of the National Union of
Journalists and International Federation of Journalists.
Aljazeera
Fwd. in agreement by:
FOREIGN PRESS FOUNDATION
Editor : Henk Ruyssenaars
http://tinyurl.com/66dmo
The Netherlands
FPF@Chello.nl
* Never trust them, the neocon's BBC - (Broadcasting Blair's
Crap) - and their warmongering:
Url.:
http://tinyurl.com/6td3d
*Corporate News Media: Incompetent, Criminally Negligent or
Complicit? - Url.:
http://tinyurl.com/cqpfe
*Colin Powell: 'It is not anti-Semitic to criticize the policies
of the state of Israel' - Url.:
http://tinyurl.com/22p6c Who creates our money? - And what
is 'Press Freedom' about? - Url.:
http://tinyurl.com/atxyk - 'American' neocons - Url.:
http://tinyurl.com/b5vsb
* Brainwashed? Take the free 'Gullibility Factor' test to find
out if you're really a mind slave or not:
Url.:
http://tinyurl.com/cbgnc
* The World Can't Wait! Drive out the Bush Regime. Mobilize for
November 2, 2005! - Url.:
http://www.worldcantwait.org/
*Former PM Wim Kok, and other Dutch Govt's War criminals in
Court - Url.:
http://tinyurl.com/662pp
*Help the troops come back from abroad! We need them badly at
home in many countries,
to fight our so called 'governments' - Url.:
http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/
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