22 November 2006
SEVEN JOURNALISTS, MEDIA WORKERS KILLED
In Iraq, five journalists and two media support workers have been killed in the past three weeks, report the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
On 20 November 2006, Walid Hassan was shot dead while trying to elude a kidnapping attempt in Baghdad, reported RSF. Hassan was the producer and star of a weekly comedy show, "Caricatures," on the privately-owned TV station Al-Sharqiya, which satirised the U.S. army, Iraqi politicians, Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias.
On 15 November 2006, Luma Abdallah Al-Karkhi, a reporter for the daily newspaper "Al-Dustour", was killed in Baquba, Diyala province. It has not been confirmed whether he was killed because of his work as a journalist. According to RSF, Al-Karkhi, 25, had received several anonymous warnings that she should stop working for the newspaper.
On the same day, gunmen shot and killed Fadia Mohammed Abid and her driver in the northern city of Mosul.
On 13 November, Muhammed Al-Ban, a reporter and cameraman for the Iraqi broadcaster Al-Sharqiya, was also killed in Mosul. Al-Ban, 58, worked for three years at Al-Sharqiya and was well known as an experienced journalist. He had also been deputy editor of the leading local daily "Al-Masar" but resigned seven months ago to focus on his work for Al-Sharqiya.
On 2 November, Qussai Abass, a reporter for "Tariq Al-Shaab", and his driver were gunned down while on their way to the newspaper's office.
The conflict in Iraq has claimed more journalists' lives than any other conflict in the past 25 years, says CPJ. According to the organisation's records, which date back to 1981, 86 journalists and 37 media support workers have been killed since the start of the U.S. occupation in March 2003. The majority of those killed - 65 journalists and 36 media support workers - have been Iraqis.
Visit these links:
- IFJ: http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=4384&Language=EN
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=19738
- CPJ: http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/mideast/iraq13nov06na.html
- CPJ Statistics on Journalists Killed in Iraq: http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/Iraq/Iraq_danger.html
- Iraqi Journalists Rights Defence Association: http://www.ijrda.com
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