Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
An Iraqi journalist working for a mass-selling Arabic language newspaper was detained in Tikrit on Tuesday for allegedly helping insurgents, a local government official said.
Kalshan al-Bayati, 33, of the London daily Al-Hayat, was arrested two days ago at his home in Tikrit, the former stronghold of ex-president Saddam Hussein, about 180 kilometres (110 miles) north of Baghdad, said the official.
"A security force went to the Tikrit residence of Kalsha al-Bayati overnight on Sunday, and arrested him and his brother Najad," said the official who requested anonymity.
"Among the items confiscated were a computer and a new car," said the official, adding the vehicle was believed to have been used in attacks against Iraqi forces in the region.
According to local media sources, Bayati was a Sunni Turkmen with family ties to an Al-Arabiya satellite television journalist, Atwar Bahjat.
Bahjat was killed in February while reporting on the dynamiting of the Shiite Ali al-Hadi Mausoleum in the central city of Samarra.
Reporters Without Borders said in a statement it was concerned about Bayati's arrest and called for his immediate release.
str-aa/nas/dv/ksh
Iraq-Britain-media-arrest
AFP 121849 GMT 09 06
COPYRIGHT 2006 Agence France-Presse. All rights reserved.
