US troops in southern Iraq detained and beat up two public RTP television journalists from Portugal traveling in the company of two Israeli colleagues after accusing the four of spying, the RTP news director said Friday.
The four men entered Iraq on Sunday in a jeep heading for the front.
They arrived at Karbala on Tuesday, but had to return to Najaf because the two Israeli reporters -- public television correspondent Dan Scemama and Boaz Bizmuth, who works for the daily newspaper Yediot Aharonot -- reportedly had no proper accreditation.
Near Najaf the four slept next to US tanks after refusing to quit the Israelis.
"When they woke up they were surrounded by military police pointing their guns at them," said RTP news director Jose Rodrigues dos Santos.
Luis Castro and his cameraman Victor Silva are well and now staying in Kuwait, dos Santos told Lusa news agency.
Castro was kicked around and Silva was brutalized, he added. They were held inside a jeep for 36 hours, accused of spying and forbidden to contact anybody until they were freed by an officer.
Scemama told his network they had spent the worst 48 hours of their lives during their detention.
"The American soldiers said we were terrorists and spies and treated us as such ... in spite of our explanations they threatened us for hours with their arms," said Scemama.
The four were not given any food and were helicoptered to Kuwait where they received medical treatment.
Dos Santos said US officials later apologized and promised an investigation.
The Portuguese television network had not announced their disappearance so as not to alarm their families.
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