Freelance photographer detained in Sudan

HARTFORD, Conn., Apr 27, 2005 (AP) — A Hartford Courant photographer working on a freelance assignment in Sudan has been detained and placed under house arrest, the newspaper reported Wednesday.

Brad Clift, who was covering refugees in the African country, was detained by security forces and placed under house arrest Tuesday, the newspaper reported.

“I was arrested unjustly for trying to do something good,” Clift told a Hartford Courant reporter.

Clift had been working as a freelance photographer in Sudan’s Darfur region since Thursday, when he traveled to Africa and met up with a relief group from the Hartford Catholic Worker.

U.S. State Department officials confirmed Tuesday afternoon that Clift has been ordered to remain at a U.S. Agency for International Development office near Nyala until a hearing can be scheduled before Sudanese officials.

Thom McGuire, the Courant’s assistant managing editor for photography and graphics, said Clift traveled to Sudan as an independent photographer after the Courant had considered, but decided against, an assignment to the region.