Iraqi Journalists Syndicate chief dies from injuries

The Iraqi press has once again paid dearly for its commitment to more freedom — the head of the country's largest journalists organisation died on Wednesday, four days after being seriously wounded by gunmen who fired at his car in Baghdad.

Jabbar Tarrad al-Shimmari, deputy head of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, told the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that al-Tamimi, 74, died from a stroke at 4 p.m. after his condition rapidly deteriorated around noon. Al-Shimmari talked to family members who were with him at the hospital.

“We offer our deepest condolences to al-Tamimi’s family and colleagues,” CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said. “His death serves as a stark reminder of the dangers journalists face daily in Iraq as the press continues to be targeted by various groups.”

“This assassination of a courageous and veteran champion of journalists’ rights causes deep pain for all of us,” said Aidan White, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) General Secretary. “Journalists all around the world share the grief of our Iraqi colleagues. We send them our deepest sympathy and we pledge to stand alongside them in defiance of the killers.”

Unidentified gunmen in a white Opel intercepted and fired at a car carrying al-Tamimi, his son and driver, Rabie, and an unidentified colleague riding in the backseat. The three were on their way from the syndicate’s headquarters to a meeting in Baghdad’s Al-Waziriya neighborhood, the journalist’s nephew, Arfan Jalil Karim, told CPJ on Monday.

Al-Tamimi and his son, Rabie, were both shot several times and hospitalised, Karim said. Rabie al-Tamimi is recovering from his wounds. The third occupant was not injured, he said.

Al-Tamimi had received threats before. Al-Shimmari said that al-Tamimi received a threat in 2005 during which the caller told him he would be killed the following day. The journalist went into hiding for a month after that. About six months ago, al-Tamimi received calls both on his cell phone and land line threatening his life, according to Karim.

Al-Tamimi, who headed the syndicate since 2003, had been a critic of the US invasion of Iraq and its continued presence there, according to Reuters. He is survived by his wife and three children.

At least 127 journalists, including al-Tamimi, and 50 media support staffers have been killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003, making it the deadliest conflict for the press in CPJ’s 26-year history. About 90 per cent of news media deaths have been Iraqis.

“Shihab Al-Tamimi is the 210th media worker to be killed since the start of the US-led invasion in 2003. We condemn the attack on Tamimi with the utmost firmness, we extend our condolences to his family, and we remind the Iraqi government that these murders should not be left unpunished,” Paris-based Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) said.

At least 156 journalists and 54 media assistants, according to RSF, have been killed since March 2003. Nothing is known of what happened to 15 other Iraqi journalists who were abducted.

A delegation of IFJ visited Baghdad last month to discuss with al-Timimi and the union’s secretary general Moaid al-Lami – both of whom have received numerous death threats from extremists – plans to strengthen media freedom and levels of protection for journalists.

“Shihab reflected the indomitable spirit of Iraqi journalism,” said White. “He has provided leadership and a positive vision for the future during these dark days. He gave his life for the independence and solidarity of the profession and all of us owe him a great and lasting debt.”

IFJ has reiterated its call on the Iraqi authorities to find the killers who struck just after a meeting where union leaders had put the finishing touches to plans for a seminar on the safety of journalists.

The seminar, held earlier this week, is part of the work plan of the Iraq Media Safety Group, supported by leading media and the journalists’ union, and created with the support of IFJ and the International News Safety Institute (INSI) last year. “The work will go on and Iraqi journalists will not be intimidated,” said White. “But all of us are deeply saddened by this loss.”