In the most recent case, British journalist Rachael Bletchly, who works for The People, was held for 26 hours, was handcuffed for a time, was given very little to eat or drink, had no possibility of sleep and had to ask permission to use the lavatory, which was denied on at least one occasion. In addition, for a time she was denied access to a lawyer and to British Embassy officials.

Ms Bletchly was deported for failing to have a valid visa. “While not disputing the US immigration service’s authority to refuse Ms Bletchly entry and to detain her for a reasonable period while making enquiries, we are seriously concerned that the treatment she was subjected to fell far below international standards,” WAN and the WEF said in a letter to Tom Ridge, the Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security.

WAN and the WEF called on Mr Ridge “to carry out a thorough investigation into the detention of Ms Bletchly and to take all necessary steps to ensure that such mistreatment of journalists is not repeated.”

The letter said:

“We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications in 100 countries, to express our serious concern at the mistreatment of journalist Rachael Bletchly by US immigration officials.

“According to reports, on 9 October Ms Bletchly, who works for The People in the United Kingdom, was detained for 26 hours on arriving at Los Angeles International Airport before being deported for failing to hold a valid visa. While not disputing the US immigration service’s authority to refuse Ms Bletchly entry and to detain her for a reasonable period while making enquiries, we are seriously concerned that the treatment she was subjected to fell far below international standards.

“Ms Bletchly was held for 26 hours, was handcuffed for a time, was given with very little to eat or drink, had no possibility of sleep and had to ask permission to use the lavatory, which was denied on at least one occasion. In addition, for a time she was denied access to a lawyer and to British Embassy officials.

“We are particularly concerned that the mistreatment of Ms Bletchly is not an isolated incident. In May, six French journalists were detained for more than 24 hours, handcuffed several times and subjected to six body searches before being deported from Los Angeles International Airport.

“We respectfully call on you to carry out a thorough investigation into the detention of Ms Bletchly and to take all necessary steps to ensure that such mistreatment of journalists is not repeated.”

The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and promotes press freedom world-wide. It represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 72 national newspaper associations, individual newspaper executives in 100 countries, 13 news agencies and nine regional and world-wide press groups.

The WEF is the division of WAN that represents senior news executives.

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications, WAN, 25 rue d’Astorg, 75008 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr