Police tactics criticized in hostage case; gunman recovering

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Luxembourg police faced criticism Friday from the world's largest journalists' group for using officers posing as a TV crew to lure a gunman into an ambush and end a hostage crisis. But a journalism professor said he would excuse the deception because lives were saved.

When the gunman emerged for an ''interview'' Thursday holding a child in one arm and a grenade in the other, police posing as cameramen shot him twice in the head. The tactic led to rescue of 25 children and three adults who had been held hostage for about 30 hours.

''These are disturbing tactics,'' cautioned Aidan White, general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists. ''Cameramen are always potential targets when filming in dangerous conditions. Incidents like this may put them even more at risk from trigger-happy criminals.''

The Brussels-based federation, which represents more than 450,000 journalists worldwide, asked for an investigation into the police tactics.

''Each year many journalists die reporting on incidents of violence. ... Their life is dangerous enough without adding to their difficulties,'' White said in a statement.

Luxembourg police defended their strategy, saying it minimized the threat to the hostages. Interior Minister Michel Wolters said the hostage-taker's demand for TV airtime gave police an opportunity to get a clear shot.

''He was very mistrustful. ... We were ready to do it (before) but he didn't come far enough out,'' Wolters said.

Northeastern University journalism professor Nicholas Daniloff said the tactic was ''a case of deception, and journalists as a whole try not to be deceptive.''

And Fred Brown, chairman of the Society for Professional Journalists' Ethics Committee, agreed.

''This just adds to the sense that journalists are not always what or who they appear to be,'' he said.

Still, Daniloff said the situation called for extreme measures. Since the hostages were freed unharmed and the hostage-taker arrested, Daniloff said he would be inclined to forgive this case.

''This was a question of saving lives,'' he said. ''You can argue that the results justified what was done.''

Hostage-taker Neji Bejaoui, an unemployed Tunisian immigrant, was shot at the day-care center in Wasserbillig, a village of 2,300 people in eastern Luxembourg.

Bejaoui was recovering from his injuries Friday after surgery, and police said his wounds were no longer life-threatening.

Authorities released details Friday about the 39-year-old gunman who brandished a pistol, a hand grenade and a knife as he seized his hostages Wednesday.

In a statement, the Luxembourg government said Bejaoui had a history of violence and was convicted of assault in 1998. He had been seeing a psychiatrist for several years.

It called Bejaoui ''very unstable'' and said he suffers from paranoia and craves attention.

The statement said Bejaoui, who lived in the nearby village of Manternach and obtained Luxembourgish nationality in 1991, was seeking to avenge a 1994 decision to deny him custody of his two children. Residents of Wasserbillig said he blamed the day care center for the loss of custody when he and his wife separated.

Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said police were forced to act when Bejaoui demanded to flee in a car with three children. In a statement, the government said the decision to act also came after Bejaoui brought crying children to the telephone, then refused to speak to police negotiators.

Police then sent in the two officers disguised as journalists with Radio Television Luxembourg. Col. Pierre Reuland of the Luxembourg police said the force requisitioned cameras and other equipment from RTL.

He refused to comment on reports police had used a gun hidden in a camera, but RTL Station Manager Vic Reuter said the camera was returned with no damage.

''We got a legal request, so we had no opportunity to refuse it,'' Reuter told The Associated Press. ''They wouldn't tell us what it was for. We discovered the use just like the rest of the journalists, only after it had happened.''

Reuter said he had mixed feelings about the operation.

''Of course we are happy we could contribute (to the rescue). On the other hand, we are journalists and are conscious of the fact this might have consequences,'' he said.

Bejaoui initially seized 37 children and the three teachers at the Sparrow's Nest daycare center Wednesday. He released eight children that day and then demanded a flight to take him to Libya.

After a night-long standoff, he freed two toddlers Thursday morning and two more around noon, leaving three adults and 25 children aged from 2 to 11 as hostages.