The Pentagon has held Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi photographer working for The Associated Press, in a prison camp for seven months for “imperative reasons of security.” The military, however, has not charged Mr. Hussein with a crime or provided his employer with evidence of his wrongdoing. It should either charge Mr. Hussein or free him.

That message was sent last month by some of the country’s major journalism organizations. The presidents of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Associated Press Managing Editors and Associated Press Photo Managers sent a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asking for the release of Mr. Hussein, who has been in U.S. custody since April.

“On the home front, your hasty decision to arrest Hussein has denied our readers a part of the story. Your refusal to offer proof has given our military justice service system a black eye. And you refusal to give our colleague his day in court, or any semblance of due process, has violated a cherished American value,” they wrote in their letter.

The case mirrors that of Abdul Ameer Younis Hussein, an Iraqi cameraman working for CBS News, who was arrested in April 2005 after being shot at the site of a car bombing in Mosul. He was held by the U.S. military for a year before an Iraqi court said there was no evidence to prosecute him.

After this case, the U.S. military adopted a rule that charges against detained journalists be addressed swiftly. That rule wasn’t followed in the Bilal Hussein case.

Bilal Hussein, who began working for the AP in 2004, was arrested in Ramadi on April 12. The military has said he was in the company of two alleged insurgents in an apartment with bomb-making materials. AP officials said the military also used four of Mr. Hussein’s photographs that showed still-burning wreckage in Iraq as justification for his arrest. The AP, which provides photographs, news stories and other material to members news organizations, said this was the mark of a quick and responsive journalist, not cooperation with insurgents.

AP Associate General Counsel Dave Tomlin said the Pentagon told him it was up to the central criminal court of Iraq to charge Mr. Hussein with wrongdoing. The court, however, can’t consider the situation until the U.S. military hands over Mr. Hussein and the evidence they have against them.

That is what the press association and Mr. Hussein are requesting. This is reasonable. If there is evidence, present it to the court and let the case proceed. Otherwise, Mr. Hussein should be set free.