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AP/Al Jazz Stringer, or "Taliban media and propaganda facilitator"?

The Bread Guy

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This from ISAF:
.... an Afghan and coalition security force captured a suspected Taliban media and propaganda facilitator, who participated in filming election attacks, during an overnight operation in Ghazni Province.

Intelligence reporting led the security force to a compound in the village of Qal’eh-ye Amir in Ghazni District to search for the targeted individual. Afghan forces called for all occupants to exit the buildings peacefully and then the combined force cleared and secured the compound.

After questioning the residents at the scene, the security force identified and detained the targeted individual. The security force also discovered multiple grenades, ammunition and magazines along with video recording equipment at the scene ....

This, from Long War Journal:
.... According to Pajwhok Afghan News, the person detained works for The Associated Press and Al Jazeera:

    Coalition troops arrested a journalist working for an international news agency during a raid on his residence in southern Ghazni province, Afghan officials and NATO said on Monday.

    Rahmatullah Nekzad, working for the Al-Jazeera Television channel and Associated Press (AP), was arrested by the joint assault force in Ghazni City, the provincial capital, late Sunday night ....

One of the more notorious photos credited to RN was one of two women who'd been executed by the Taliban, leading to some.... concerns with sharing such imagery.  More of the images credited to him here (Google Image search).

It'll be interesting to see how this unfolds...
 
I'm shocked, SHOCKED!
Al Jazeera has called on the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) to immediately release two of its cameramen arrested in Afghanistan over the last 72 hours.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Al Jazeera said the arrests were "an attempt by the Isaf leadership to suppress its comprehensive coverage of the Afghan war".

The two Al Jazeera cameramen detained are Mohamed Nader and Rahmatullah Nekzad.

According to Nader's wife, he was picked up from his home in southern Kandahar by Isaf troops on September 22.

She said she was woken up when the troops raided their home during the night. The troops then proceeded to arrest her husband, removing him from his bedroom, she said.

The troops also confiscated some of their valuables.

Nekzad, the other cameraman working for Al Jazeera in a freelance capacity, was arrested two days earlier under similar circumstances in Ghazni province.

Isaf, though, in statements described both as "suspected Taliban media and propaganda facilitator".

Al Jazeera response

Al Jazeera, however, strongly rejected the claims and insisted the two were innocent.

"There are two very important issues here, one is the vagueness of the allegations against this camera man: what exactly is the allegation of being 'a propagandist' - how do you define that?" Anthony Mills, from the International Press Institute in Geneva, told Al Jazeera ....
 
And here (belatedly on my part) is the wrap-up - off you go, then!:
Coalition forces have released two men who were detained during Afghan and coalition force operations earlier this week. Rahmatullah Nekzad, a freelance videographer and reporter for Al-Jazeera and the Associated Press, was detained Monday in Ghazni, and Mohammed Nader, an Al-Jazeera videographer was detained Wednesday in Kandahar. Both were detained after intelligence linked them to Taliban propaganda networks. During questioning, both reporters admitted having routine contact with the Taliban.

"After reviewing the initial intelligence and information received during questioning, the two men were not considered a significant security threat and were released," said Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, Director of Communication, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). "During their brief detention they were treated humanely and in accordance with international law and U.S. policies."

Both men went through the same process as all detainees, with each case examined and reviewed in accordance with standard ISAF and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan procedures. Based on results of a review, a detainee may be retained for further questioning if sufficient information warrants, transferred to Afghan authorities for detention and criminal prosecution, transferred to Afghan authorities for participation in a reconciliation program, or released without conditions. The reporters were released without conditions.

"No news agency working in Afghanistan was targeted as part of these operations, and no guilt or innocence is presumed by our activities," said Rear Admiral Smith. "The operations were conducted with our Afghan partners and based on intelligence gathered over an extended period of time, focusing on insurgent propaganda networks and their affiliates."

A discussion earlier today between Rear Admiral Smith and Samer Allawi, Al Jazeera Kabul Bureau Chief, focused on the basis for detention of the two journalists, and Al Jazeera's acceptance of responsibility for their conduct. The Doha-based news organization pledged to uphold the highest journalistic standards for their reporting in Afghanistan.

ISAF will also work closely with the Government of Afghanistan and its Ministry of Information and Culture to ensure that security operations are conducted to prevent Taliban influence from being spread through propaganda, and that journalists are treated with respect as they endure the challenge of reporting in an often dangerous and complex environment ....
 
Read the thread title too fast. Saw Jazz Singer, not Jazz Stringer

Thought Neil Diamond went to work for AJ ;D

 
I wonder if they'll make a news story about how well they were treated, while being detained by coalition forces..... probably not.
 
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