The Pentagon's press corridor has been closed for more than 30 days. A federal court ordered it reopened. The administration has not complied. The ceasefire has not changed this [1].

The closure began in early March when the Department of Defense revoked building access for credentialed journalists, citing "operational security during a period of heightened threat." A federal judge in the District of Columbia ruled the closure unconstitutional on March 22, finding that it violated the First Amendment rights of accredited correspondents. The administration appealed. The corridor remained shut.

What makes the closure notable on April 10 is context. The administration announced a ceasefire. It held a press conference to discuss the ceasefire. Reporters attended that press conference in a temporary briefing space outside the Pentagon, not in the building where defense reporters have worked since the 1940s. The government wanted credit for peace while denying the press physical access to the institution waging the war.

The Pentagon Correspondents' Association has filed two additional motions seeking enforcement of the court order. Neither has been acted upon. The appeals court has not scheduled oral arguments.

Press freedom organizations including the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Committee to Protect Journalists have called the closure the most significant restriction on Pentagon press access since the institution of the modern credentialing system. The comparison is not hyperbolic — no previous administration closed the corridor entirely, even during the early days of the Iraq War.

A ceasefire without transparency is a statement. It is not accountability.

-- ANNA WEBER, Berlin