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ARCHIVES: Iraq

October 17, 2014

Confusion about Iraqi journalist's reported death in Mosul

Contradictory information has been circulating since October 13 about Mohanad Al-Aqidi, an Iraqi journalist thought to be held by the Jihadi group Islamic State in Mosul (in Nineveh province). Many local media reported on the day that Islamic State had killed him. But other sources insisted the following day that he was still alive. The reports of Mohanad Al-Aqidi’s death spread very rapidly in Iraq. Several sources in Baghdad and Mosul confirmed his death to Reporters Without Borders and other... MORE
October 15, 2014

Islamic State kills another Iraqi journalist, second in two days

Jihadi group Islamic State murdered another Iraqi journalist Monday in Mosul (in the northern province of Nineveh), just two days after publicly executing an Iraqi journalist in Samara (in Salahuddin province). The latest victim was Mohanad Al-Aqidi , the Sada news agency’s Mosul correspondent and a former presenter on now closed Al-Mowseliya TV. Kidnapped in July on his way to Dohuk province, he was shot several times in the head in Al-Ghazlani camp, in southern Mosul. Reporters Without... MORE
September 2, 2014

IFJ demands accountability for violence against journalists in Iraq

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on the international community to hold those responsible for violence against journalists in Iraq accountable. In a statement to the special session on the abuses committed by the Islamic State and associated groups in Iraq convened by the United Nations Human Rights to day in Geneva, the IFJ highlighted the impunity for killings, abductions and other serious violations of human and humanitarian law targeting journalist which... MORE
August 12, 2014

Kurdish reporter killed in Iraqi Kurdistan

A Kurdish journalist was killed in Makhmur district, south of the city of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, on Friday when shrapnel from mortar shelling hit her in the chest, according to news reports. Deniz Firat , a freelance reporter, was covering clashes between Kurdish forces and insurgents with the Islamic State, an Al-Qaeda splinter group formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham, the Firat News Agency said. "As the violence in Iraq increases, all parties involved need to ensure that... MORE
July 17, 2014

Journalists injured, arrested amid Iraq violence

At least two journalists were wounded, another arrested, and a newspaper office raided in the past week in Iraq amid heightened political uncertainty and violence, according to news reports and local press freedom groups. The violations come as Iraqi authorities struggle to break political gridlock and form a new government while battling an insurgency spearheaded by the Islamic State, an Al-Qaeda splinter group that changed its name from the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham after announcing the... MORE
July 17, 2014

Step up protection for media workers in Iraq, demands IFJ

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called on Iraqi authorities to carry out an immediate and thorough investigation into a vicious attack on the Baghdad office of the Al Ta’khi newspaper on Monday evening, 14 July. IFJ’s affiliates, the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate (KJS) and the Iraqi Journalists’ Syndicate (IJS), have strongly condemned the attack on the paper which has been running for over 60 years. The IFJ has fully backed their stance and called on the Iraqi... MORE
July 4, 2014

Iraq: New guidelines silence media

Iraq’s new media guidelines are so vague as to be wide open to abuse. The guidelines unjustifiably restrict freedom of the press, including by requiring pro-governmental coverage. The government-run Communications and Media Commission (CMC) issued the “mandatory” guidelines on June 18, 2014, to regulate media “during the war on terror.” The guidelines demand that media avoid making information about insurgent forces public and requires them to report on government forces only in favorable terms... MORE
June 17, 2014

Journalist killed, another injured amid Iraq clashes

At least one journalist was killed and another injured Sunday in an attack in northern Diyala province, the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate and Iraqi news outlets reported. The killing comes amid escalating clashes between the Iraqi government and its allies against an insurgency spearheaded by the Al-Qaeda splinter group Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS). Al-Ahad TV channel reported today that cameraman Khalid Ali was killed and correspondent Moataz Jamil was injured as they were reporting on... MORE
June 17, 2014

Journalists in Iraq Must Remain Vigilant After Murder of Khalid Hamada

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has advised journalists covering events in Iraq to remain vigilant at all times following the murder of journalist Khalid Hamada yesterday, Sunday 15 June. According to IFJ affiliate, the Iraqi Journalists’ Syndicate (IJS), Hamada, a cameraman for Alahd TV, was killed in the Aladhem district, in Iraq’s Dyali province, while covering fighting between government forces and terrorist groups. His colleague Mutaz Hassan , who is a reporter for Alahd... MORE
March 27, 2014

Iraq: Authorities turn their sights on journalists

Iraqi authorities are turning increasingly hostile towards critical journalists, according to Reporters Without Borders . One of latest violations of freedom of information is a warrant for the arrest of Awn Al-Khashlok , the head of Baghdadia TV , and Anwar Al-Hamdani , the host of the station’s “Ninth Studio” programme, on charges of disturbing public order and inciting chaos and inter-communal violence. Both live in Egypt and have not been arrested. Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki filed a... MORE

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