the arrest of Muthana al-Dhari, editor-in-chief of the Iraqi weekly al-Basaer, a publication of the Association of Muslim Scholars
At a solidarity meeting held in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Tuesday, Lebanese, Palestinian, Jordanian and Moroccan parties and associations issued a statement condemning his detention as well as the bombing of Iraqi churches.
Al-Dhari was detained on Monday in Iraq when a US patrol stopped his motorcade en route to the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) headquarters after he had participated in a live TV discussion on the proposed Iraqi national conference.
US forces said they carried out a body scan on al-Dhari and his companions and found TNT traces on his fingers.
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Maan Bashour, chairman of the Pan-Arab Forum, said the arrest was proof of the occupiers' fear of the truth.
"His [al-Dhari's] arrest came after he participated in a live TV talk show. The US occupation is afraid of people like Dr al-Dhari who speak the truth, which the occupation is so keen to hide," Bashour told Aljazeera.net.
Bashour said many of the incidents happening in Iraq are being orchestrated by US and Israel to discredit the "honourable Iraqi resistance".
"Al-Dhari's arrest serves US-Zionist plans. The US occupation is keen to keep Iraqis unaware of who is targeting their infrastructure, civilians and places of worship. Al-Dhari and like-minded people have dedicated themselves to tell the truth, so keeping them free would not be in the interest of US and its allies in Iraq," he said.
