ABC sued over bin Laden pics

2005-09-02 11:00

Denver - Rare photographs of Osama bin Laden, including exclusive shots of the al-Qaeda leader on a battlefield, were broadcast by the ABC television network without the Egyptian photographers' permission, according to a lawsuit filed in United States district court.

Essam Mohamed Aly Deraz is seeking $10m in damages in the lawsuit filed on Thursday. He is claiming copyright infringement and is asking a judge to prohibit the network or any of its affiliates from using the photographs.

ABC News vice-president Jeffrey Schneider said: "We have not been served with a lawsuit and don't have any comment."

In 1998, Deraz twice agreed to allow the network to use his photographs on a one-time only basis for which he was paid $7 000 and $8 000 respectively, the lawsuit states. But the network continued to use the photographs without Deraz's authorisation.

Deraz also claims the network never gave him attribution in the newscasts for the photographs of bin Laden, which he claims were taken after being given "unprecedented access to photograph and film" the al-Qaeda leader. The network is unfairly benefiting from the personal risk and time Deraz took to obtain the photographs, the lawsuit states.

Deraz's lawyer, David Weinstein, did not return a phone message. It was unclear why the lawsuit was filed in Denver and not in New York City where ABC is based.

- AP