- American troops in Baghdad yesterday blasted their way
into the home of an Iraqi journalist working for the Guardian and Channel
4, firing bullets into the bedroom where he was sleeping with his wife
and children.
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- Ali Fadhil, who two months ago won the Foreign Press
Association young journalist of the year award, was hooded and taken for
questioning. He was released hours later.
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- Dr Fadhil is working with Guardian Films on an investigation
for Channel 4's Dispatches programme into claims that tens of millions
of dollars worth of Iraqi funds held by the Americans and British have
been misused or misappropriated.
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- The troops told Dr Fadhil that they were looking for
an Iraqi insurgent and seized video tapes he had shot for the programme.
These have not yet been returned.
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- The director of the film, Callum Macrae, said yesterday:
"The timing and nature of this raid is extremely disturbing. It is
only a few days since we first approached the US authorities and told them
Ali was doing this investigation, and asked them then to grant him an interview
about our findings.
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- "We need a convincing assurance from the American
authorities that this terrifying experience was not harassment and a crude
attempt to discourage Ali's investigation."
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- Dr Fadhil was asleep with his wife, their three-year-old
daughter, Sarah, and seven-month-old son, Adam, when the troops forced
their way in.
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- "They fired into the bedroom where we were sleeping,
then three soldiers came in. They rolled me on to the floor and tied my
hands. When I tried to ask them what they were looking for they just told
me to shut up," he said.
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- http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1682246,00.html
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