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Willie Apiata - Source: ONE News -
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The New Zealand Herald says it published a photo of two New Zealand SAS soldiers in Afghanistan for its news value and does not believe the men have been put at risk by its decision.
One of the men pictured in the photo taken in the capital Kabul has been identified as Corporal Willie Apiata, the first soldier to win the Victoria Cross since World War II.
The New Zealand soldiers were in the city helping restore order after Taliban gunmen and suicide bombers attacked this week.
The photo was taken by photographer Philip Poupin and published in The New Zealand Herald on Thursday.
The paper's assistant editor John Roughan says staff did not know Apiata was in the photo when they decide to print it on the basis of its "strong news value".
"It was New Zealand's first glimpse of our forces in Kabul," he has told Radio New Zealand.
"We didn't even know they were there until a few days beforehand, when the New York Times revealed it to us...this was the first chance we had to actually look at them, to see them in action."
Roughan does not believe publication put the soldiers at risk.
"That's something that we always consider, but in this case the soldiers were out in a public place, in a public street, in a major city, visible to anybody, wearing uniform, carrying their guns...there seemed no reason for the Herald or anybody else to hide their identities."
He says the paper would not have printed Apiata's name.
"We wouldn't have identified him in that sense, but when he's on patrol, in Kabul, in public, we don't think that he's preserved from being photographed."
The paper would do the same thing again, "... if we had pictures of news value and we were confident that they wouldn't put anybody at risk."
The Defence Force says the publication will be discussed with the Herald.
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