Jawed Ahmad, an Afghan journalist who worked for Canadian media, including the broadcaster CTV News, was gunned down on March 10 by two men in a vehicle as he was getting out of his own car in the centre of the southern city of Kandahar, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported. Ahmad, also known as Jojo Yazemi, died on the spot. His body was taken to a nearby hospital where members of his family and friends have gathered by his side.
"We offer our condolences to Ahmad's family," RSF said. "He was a talented and promising young journalist who had the courage to work with foreign news media. He was killed in cold blood after being unjustly detained by the US military for 11 months. Unlike the June 2008 murder of BBC reporter Abdul Samad Rohani, Ahmad's murder must not go unpunished. We call on the Afghan government to launch an immediate investigation so that the killers can be quickly identified and brought to trial," the press freedom organisation said.
Ahmad's shocked brother told RSF that he did not rule out any hypotheses as regards the motive. Several Afghan journalists also said that they suspected the murder may have been ordered by the Taliban. Kandahar provincial government spokesman Zalmai Ayobi confirmed the murder but offered no details.
Ahmad was arrested by the US military in November 2007 on suspicion of being "an enemy combatant" because of his contacts with the insurgents. Claiming he posed a danger to the coalition forces and the Afghan government, the Americans held him at Bagram air base, north of Kabul, for 11 months.
After being released in September 2008, he told RSF that the Americans arrested him for being in touch with the Taliban. "But how can you work as a reporter in southern Afghanistan without contacting the Taliban? It is normal and it is my right." He added: "After this period of detention, I feel even more of a journalist than before. I am very enthusiastic about the idea of going back to work. But above all, I want justice. I will knock on all the doors with the help of my lawyers so that those who detained and tortured me are punished." He accused his prison guards of depriving him of sleep, hitting him and putting him in a cell with mentally disturbed detainees.
Ahmad recently told RSF that he intended to write a book about his experiences in the Bagram detention centre.
