Iraqi Blogger Detained
Rebecca MacKinnon writes on Global Voices Online that an Iraqi blogger went missing for two days and is now in the custody of the Iraqi intelligence service.
As we reported yesterday, Khalid’s brother Raed says their family was relieved to hear on Thursday morning that Khalid is still alive after going missing for two days. On Sunday, Khalid described on his blog how his apartment in Baghdad had been broken into and his hard drive was stolen. Soon after that he disappeared.
In this case, the issue is not whether Khalid Jarrar has written something he shouldn’t have and even if he is against a U.S. presence in Iraq or not. It is actually about the basis for creating a democracy anywhere — freedom of speech and the rule of law.
Detention of a peaceful blogger without charges or explanation is unacceptable and illegitimate behavior by any government’s security forces, no matter how that government came to power. If he is given a fair trial and it turns out he broke the law, then that’s another thing. But if he’s being detained because Iraq’s security forces take a dim view of his blog, that does not bode well for the future of free speech in Iraq.
Thankfully, just as there is a Committee to Protect Journalists (which did a lot for us here in Armenia last year) there is now a Committee to Protect Bloggers. Hopefully, I’ll never need them but nice to know that they’re there.
