Al Jazeera slams Isaf over arrests

Al Jazeera has called on the 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 "Taliban facilitators".

Al Jazeera response

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

The arrests follow a recent pattern of escalation by Isaf and coalition forces to target Al Jazeera journalists in Afghanistan.

Recently, Al Jazeera's Afghan bureau chief Samir Allawi was threatened and pressured to change the editorial line.

Al Jazeera, however, said it will continue to maintain its coverage on the basis of fair and impartial journalism in line with its Code of Ethics and will not bias its coverage in favour of any party or coalition despite pressures being imposed on it.

As part of their work cameramen and crew need to contact all sides of those involved in a particular issue, which in this case includes Isaf forces, the Afghanistan government as well as the Taliban. These contacts should not be seen as a criminal offence but rather as a necessary component of the work that journalists undertake, the channel said.