BAGHDAD — An Iraqi judge Tuesday closed the case of a French reporter who was held for three weeks before being released, and he is now free to leave the country, his lawyer Naama Al-Rubaye said.



"After this decision, he can now leave," Rubaye said of Nadir Dendoune, who was detained in January for allegedly taking unauthorized photographs of security installations but released earlier this month.



Dendoune was arrested while reportedly visiting Iraq to compile a series of stories on the upcoming 10th anniversary of the US-led invasion of the country for French magazines Le Monde Diplomatique and Le Courier de l’Atlas.



Iraqi judicial sources claimed that Dendoune, who also holds Australian and Algerian passports, was arrested carrying a camera with which he took pictures of the Iraqi intelligence service headquarters, army and police. — AFP