I militari americani hanno trattenuto in prigione, malmenato e minacciato di morte i quattro giornalisti (due israeliani e due portoghesi) che sono stati espulsi dall'Iraq il 31 marzo.

The following is archived at http://www.democracynow.org/scemama.htm


[On April 1, 2003, the national listener-sponsored radio and tv show
"Democracy Now" interviewed Israeli journalist Dan Scemama, one of four
foreign journalists detained and expelled out of Iraq by the U.S. Military.
In this his most extensive interview with the American press, Scemema
outlines his 48 hours in captivity during which time U.S. Forces threatened
to kill him and the three others, another Israeli reporters and two
journalists from Portugal.]


NOTE: THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT


DEMOCRACY NOW! APRIL 1, 2003


Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now: International press watch group
Reporters Without Borders has accused the US and British coalition forces in
Iraq of displaying contempt for journalists covering the conflict who are
not embedded with troops. The criticism comes after a group of four
³unilateral or roving reporters revealed how they were arrested by US
military police as they slept near a US unit a hundred miles south of
Baghdad and were held overnight. They described their ordeal as the worst 48
hours of their lives. The four journalists‹Israeli journalist Dan Scemama,
Boaz Bismuth, and Portuguese Luis Castro and Victor Silva, entered Iraq in a
jeep and followed a US convoy though they were not officially attached to
the troops. US military police seized the journalists outside their base,
detained them even though they were carrying international press cards. The
group claimed they were mistreated and denied contact with their families.
Weıre joined now by Dan Scemama in Israel. Welcome to Democracy Now!


Dan Scemama, Israel Channel One correspondent: Hi, good afternoon.


Amy Goodman: Itıs good to have you with us. Can you describe exactly what
happened.


Dan Scemama: Yes, we went into Iraq to report about the war. We went on a
jeep that we had that we rented. We went with four guys. We all had
credentials that we got from the American army. On the credential it was
written ³unilateral² and it was not written ³embedded². We just went in and
we saw the British crews fighting, we saw the American crews‹soldiers
fighting.


We spent our nights with the American and the British soldiers, each time in
another camp, in another place where they were parked. We were with them. We
got to a place which was 120 kilometers south‹kilometers which I think is
seventy, maybe, miles south of Baghdad and there we met a group of, of the
army of soldiers, and there was there also Ted Koppel was there with
uniforms, with a big helmet on his head. And Ted Koppel looked at me and
said to me, ³Youıre crazy, you donıt have a gas mask. Are you crazy? Because
theyıre going to use chemical weapons.² And I did not recognize Ted Koppel
of course. Then I found out that it was him. Then we are asked by the army
there to try and get gas masks, because if not, itıs very dangerous for our
lives.


So we went south a little bit. We met another American troop, a chemical
officer we met. We asked him for a gas mask and he gave it to us as a gift,
which, what Iım trying to tell you is, we met a lot of American soldiers,
and a lot of beautiful people that helped us. That understood what we were
doing there, that a lot of times were trying to help us as much as they
could. Until we got to this one group of soldiers in which the head of them
was a guy that called himself‹he did not call himself‹we succeeded to find
out his name because he did not want to identify himself. And his name was
First Lieutenant Scholl which I will never forget his name. And him, with
his soldiers have decided that we are very dangerous spies for Iraq. They
decided that the CD player that we had is an electronic device that we used
to tell the Iraqis where the American soldiers are. They took away our
cameras. They took away our ID cards. They took away our money. They took
our phones. They put their guns towards us. They forced us to lie down on
the floor. To take our shirts up to make sure we didnıt have any explosives
on our bodies. They checked us‹our bodies‹they checked our cars‹Iım afraid
Iım too long so maybe you have another question and then I will continue.


Amy Goodman: Was one of the Portuguese reporters beaten up?


Dan Scemama: Yes. After we were arrested at six oı clock in the morning by
these guys, and at about 11:30 I think it was, some five and a half hours
after we were arrested, he kind of lost his patience, the Portuguese guy,
and they put us in our jeep, they closed us inside the jeep and they said we
are not allowed to get out of the jeep and we are supposed to stay there.
And uh, so the Portuguese guy got out of the jeep, approached the army‹the
camp and said ³Please, please, I am begging you, I have a wife and children.
Let me just make a call, a telephone call to tell them that we are safe,
that we are with you, the Americans and not with the Iraqis. They might
think at home that we are killed by Iraqis. Please just let us tell them
that.² And they said to him, ³Go immediately to your car.² And he said,
³Please I am begging you.² Five soldiers went out of the camp, jumped on
him and started to beat him and to kick him. We ran to his direction. They
all put bullets inside the cannons of their guns, and they said if we move
forward they shoot at us. We were standing like stupid guys. We saw our
friend lying on the ground crying, hurting. They tied his hand behind his
back. They took him into the camp. And after half-an-hour, they let him go,
and came back to us all crying. And then came this Lieutenant Scholl. And he
told us, ³Donıt mess with my soldiers. Donıt mess with them because they are
trained like dogs to kill. And they will kill you if you try again.²


Amy Goodman: Well, Dan Scemama, how long were you held by the US forces?


Dan Scemama: We were there in our jeep for thirty-six hours outside the
camp. They asked us if we need anything. They came politely, very nice,
Lieutenant Scholl, he came again. ³Do you need anything?² And we said ³Yes,
if you can give us a little food.² And he said, ³I donıt have enough food
for my soldiers. I will not give you food.² After about an hour, we saw a
soldier going with water‹a bottle of water‹in our direction. And we said
³Look! Something human is happening here. Somebody is coming to us with
water!² And then we saw that he gave the water to a dog that was there, not
to us!


Amy Goodman: Well‹


Dan Scemama: And they kept us thirty-six hours and after thirty-six hours
they put us on a helicopter and sent us to Kuwait. And we thought, okay, now
we are safe. And in the military camp‹American military camp in Kuwait, they
hold us in a tent, standing up for six hours. An officer was standing next
to us, I donıt remember his name. One of the sergeants who was there said,
³Do you want a cup of coffee?² And the officer who was there shouted at them
³Donıt give them anything! Donıt tell them anything. Donıt talk to them,
donıt be nice to them!² and he said to us, ³Donıt move and donıt talk to
each other. ³ This was already after 40-something hours that we were there.
And suddenly at six oı clock in the morning, that was exactly 48 hours from
the moment we were caught, or everything started, they said ³Guys,
everything is finished, everything is finished, what hotel are you staying
in Kuwait City, weıll take you to your hotel.² Listen what we did, we asked
³Can we use our mobile phones? Our satellite phones?² And they said ³Yes.²
And we all took the satellite phones that we had and we called home.


We all four of us started to cry and the Sergeant that six hours before
wanted to give us a cup of coffee, came to us, a Sergeant Major of the
American army and he started to hug us, he was crying. And he said, ³Believe
me, itıs not all the American army, excuse me I love you, I am with you,
excuse us, please and please and please. This all was finished. They took me
to my hotel. And when I arrived in my hotel, five minutes later, I had time
to take a shower, I wanted to eat something, because I did not eat for a
long time. And five minutes after I finished my shower, people knocked on my
door in my hotel. And it was Kuwaiti secret police. And they told me for
your own safety, we have to show you out of Kuwait immediately. And they
took me to the airport and threw me out of Kuwait. Iım sure the Americans
did that.


Amy Goodman: Well, Dan Scemama, I want to thank you for recounting what
happened to you and your colleagues. Another Israeli journalist and two
Portuguese journalists


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