WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. military will recommend criminal charges in Iraqi courts against an award-winning Associated Press photographer it accused of working with insurgents, the Pentagon said on Monday. The military will present evidence against Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi, to Iraq's Central Criminal Court this month, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said. Morrell would not discuss the evidence against Hussein, who has been held by the U.S. military since April 2006. In a statement, the AP called for the immediate release of the photographer, who was part of an AP photo team that won a Pulitzer prize in 2005. The U.S. military previously said Hussein was detained for possessing materials for roadside bombs, insurgent propaganda and a surveillance photo of a coalition installation. "Since his detention, additional evidence has come to light that makes it clearer than before that Mr. Hussein is a terrorist media operative who infiltrated the AP," Morrell said. AP president and chief executive officer Tom Curley said in a statement: "While we are hopeful that there could be some resolution to Bilal Hussein's long detention, we have grave concerns that his rights under the law continue to be ignored and even abused. "The steps the U.S. military is now taking continue to deny Bilal his right to due process and, in turn, may deny him a chance at a fair trial. The treatment of Bilal represents a miscarriage of the very justice and rule of law that the United States is claiming to help Iraq achieve. "At this point, we believe the correct recourse is the immediate release of Bilal." (Reporting by Kristin Roberts, Editing by Howard Goller)
