U.S. forces release AP photographer in Iraq after 2 yrs

By Dean Yates

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer working for the Associated Press in Iraq was freed from U.S. military custody on Wednesday after being held without charge for two years, the news agency said.

Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi, was handed over to AP colleagues at a checkpoint in Baghdad. He was smiling and appeared in good health, AP said in a report from the Iraqi capital.

"I want to thank all the people working in AP ... I have spent two years in prison even though I was innocent. I thank everybody," Hussein said after being freed.

The U.S. military had accused Hussein of working with insurgents in Iraq. AP has repeatedly denied any improper links and said Hussein was only doing his job as a journalist. No formal charges were ever filed, the agency said.

Hussein, 36, was freed after the U.S. military conducted a review of his status and decided he was no longer a security threat. That followed a decision by an Iraqi judicial panel that dismissed allegations against Hussein and ordered him released under an amnesty law passed by parliament in February.

He was taken to the checkpoint aboard a prisoner bus and left U.S. custody wearing a traditional Iraqi robe, the AP said.

The photographer was embraced by family members, including his brother and mother, after his release, and received flowers.

AP executives welcomed the news of Hussein's release.