Electronic Iraq : The Media

Iraqi journalist sent to jail for critical reporting in Iraqi Kurdistan

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 06:25:04 CST

The Iraqi Kurdistan court of appeals should act immediately to overturn a judge's ruling on Tuesday to impose a one-month prison term against a journalist who published critical reports about the Sulaymania courthouse. The journalist's lawyer said newly adopted legislation does not appear to allow such a prison sentence.

Iraqi Interior Ministry initiative to protect journalists

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:28:41 CST

Reporters Without Borders hails the Iraqi Interior Ministry's creation of a hotline for journalists in danger just a few weeks after it set up a special police unit to investigate murders of journalists. Created jointly with the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory in Iraq, a Reporters Without Borders partner organization, the hotline may have already saved lives. Two journalists in the southern city of Basra eluded threats by calling the number and getting the security forces to intervene.

New Wave of Violence Against Iraqi Journalists

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 09:11:04 CST

Iraqi journalists have faced a fresh bout of violence in recent weeks, which is seen by some observers as a renewed attempt to undermine free media in the country. Since last month, at least five media workers have been killed and several others injured. Earlier this week, Dyar Abas Ahmed, a Kurdish journalist, was gunned down in the northern city of Kirkuk, according to the New-York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

Young Iraqi reporter gunned down

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:19:30 CST

A young Iraqi reporter was shot dead in Kirkuk, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists. Dyar Abas Ahmed, a correspondent with the independent online news site Eye Iraq, was walking in a street in the center of Kirkuk with a friend on October 10 when he was shot six times in the head and chest by unidentified gunmen, CPJ reports. He was declared dead at the scene.

An Iraqi journalist defies death, finds hope in U.S.

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:02:45 CST

Iraqi cameraman Jehad Ali survived a 2005 assassination attempt, but his right leg was shattered and his career threatened. Since then, colleagues have raised money for medical care, surgeons in California have offered to reconstruct the limb, and, now, Ali has cleared another big hurdle: He's gained permission to enter the United States.

New journalists' union leader targeted in Baghdad bomb attack

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:40:00 CST

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today vigorously condemned a targeted bomb attack on the President of the Iraqi Union of Journalists (IUJ) in Baghdad only seven months after his predecessor was shot dead by extremists. The IFJ is demanding increased security for the union and personal protection for its leaders.

Four from al-Sharqiya TV killed in Mosul; arrests made

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:48:50 CST

The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the arrest of suspects in the killing of three journalists and a media worker in Mosul on Saturday. CNN reported that two suspects have been arrested in Mosul, according to Gen. Jalal Tawfeeq, military operations commander of Nineveh province, who spoke to al-Sharqiya. According to Reuters, Brig.-Gen. Khalid Abdul Sattar, the spokesman for Iraqi military operations in Mosul and Nineveh province, said police had arrested five suspects.

New Iraq media deaths spark call for report on all unsolved killings of journalists

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:30:19 CST

The International Federation of Journalists welcomed the Iraqi government's investigation into the recent killing of four employees of Iraqi satellite TV channel Al Sharqiya in Mosul but said that authorities must investigate all unsolved killings, including the assassination of Iraqi union president Shihab Al-Timimi, if they want to ensure press freedom in the country.

Cameraman freed by U.S.; another held

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 06:46:22 CST

Omar Husham, 28, a cameraman with Baghdad TV, a satellite channel owned by the Iraqi Islamic Party, was freed on Friday without charges after one day in custody by U.S. forces, according to one of his colleagues. Ibrahim Jassam, a freelance photographer for Reuters, was arrested last week during a raid at his home in Mahmoodiya, south of Baghdad, Reuters reported. The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented several cases of Iraqi journalists who have been held by U.S. forces for weeks or months without charge or conviction. All were released without any substantiated charges.

Journalist murdered outside his home in Mosul

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:44:23 CST

Reporters Without Borders strongly condemned the murder of Iraqi journalist Mohiddin Abdulhamid al-Nakib, gunned down outside his home in the northern city of Mosul, 370 kms north of Baghdad, on 17 June 2008. His death brings to 216 the number of media workers killed in Iraq since the start of the war in March 2003, 12% of whom have died in Mosul, the country's second most dangerous city for media professionals.

New report details challenges to journalists working in Iraq and the region

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:20:50 CST

Sixty-five media workers killed in Iraq in 2007, with little investigation into their deaths. An Arab charter that gives governments control of what satellite channels can broadcast. Up to five years in prison for insulting the President in Egypt or Tunisia. This is what journalists working in the region can expect, says the International Federation of Journalists in a new report.

Journalist leader dies after attack

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 08:31:50 CST

The president of the Iraqi Journalists' Syndicate died on 27 February, four days after being seriously wounded when he was attacked by unidentified gunmen in Baghdad. Shihab al-Tamimi was wounded in the stomach, shoulder and face when his car was hit by a hail of bullets in a targeted attack on 23 February. He died in hospital on 27 February. Al-Tamimi's son Rabie was also in the car and was injured in the attack.

Journalist freed in Mosul

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 07:35:14 CST

Reporters Without Borders has welcomed the release of Faisal Abbas Ghazala, a correspondent for the satellite TV station Kolsat, on 21 December 2007 after more than a month in detention in Mosul, but called on the Kurdistan regional government to show greater care and moderation in its measures affecting the news media.

Eleven of Iraqi editor's relatives murdered in Baghdad

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 07:56:58 CST

Reporters Without Borders is shocked by the murders of 11 close relatives of Dia al-Kawwaz, the Amman-based editor of the online newspaper "Shabeqat Akhbar al-Iraq", in an attack on his family home on 25 November 2007 in Baghdad. Kawwaz recently received telephone threats from Iraqi militia members.

Armed group puts bounty on state TV reporter's head

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 06:53:20 CST

Reporters Without Borders has called on the Iraqi authorities to urgently establish a program for protecting journalists after an armed group put a price on the head of public TV station Al-Iraqiya's correspondent in Diyala, an eastern province where at least six journalists have been murdered.

Climate of Fear Stymies Basra Reporters

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 08:36:56 CST

As a reporter for a US-backed radio station in the southern city of Basra, Majid al-Brekan had received threats before - but none like this. One day in late March, as Brekan slipped into the driver's seat of his car in front of his house, he noticed three masked men riding on a motorcycle behind him. Fearing trouble, Brekan quickly turned on his ignition and slammed on the accelerator. The men shot and damaged his car, but Brekan escaped without injury. The incident shook the journalist so much that he decided to flee his home city.

CPJ Letter of Support for Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 23:17:43 CST

The Committee to Protect Journalists sent this letter to 14 bipartisan cosponsors of the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act, expressing support for the legislation, which calls for increased US responsiveness to the refugee crisis in the region. This legislation addresses many of the dire needs of Iraqi journalists targeted for their work for media outlets based or funded by the United States.

Media Worker Death Toll Reaches 200

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 06:49:42 CST

An Iraqi translator for a United States' television network has been found dead in Iraq, bringing the number of journalists and media workers killed in the country since the start of the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 to 200.

Charges dropped against detained Iraqi media workers

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:56:12 CST

The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Monday's decision by a criminal court in Baghdad to dismiss the charge of incitement to terror against 11 current and former employees of the independent Iraqi production company Wasan Media.

Tribute to Arif Ali Flaih

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 09:30:50 CST

Violence has claimed IWPR reporter who helped establish a ground-breaking radio show on women's issues. He loved to speak French. When Ari Ali Flaih, 32, first arrived at the IWPR training center in Sulaimaniyah, he immediately tried out the international trainers' French. He had never been to France, but he was in love with the language and the country. Flaih will never go to France. He was killed by a roadside bomb on June 11, 2007, when he was driving from Khalis to Hibhib, eight kilometers northwest of Baquba in the province of Diyala.