02.07.2008 - Source: Freedom House

Violent retributions against journalists; 206 journalists and media workers killed from 2003 to 2007 ("Freedom in the World 2008") [ID 25005]

"Although the Iraqi media are not subject to direct government censorship, violent retributions against journalists have hindered their ability to report widely and objectively. Many have persevered in spite of such threats. As many as 206 journalists and media workers, most of them Iraqis, have been killed in the country since 2003. Dozens have also been abducted by insurgents and militias or detained without charge or disclosure of supporting evidence by U.S. forces on suspicion of aiding and abetting insurgents."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Violence against journalists by insurgency groups in 2006 (32 killed, 8 abducted, 12 media workers killed) ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23793]

"Violence against the media, primarily by militia and insurgency groups, was commonplace. Media workers reported that they refrained from producing stories on insurgency and militia activity for fear of retaliatory attacks. For example, in Diyala, an armed group posted wanted notices on the walls of mosques and other buildings with a photo of Al-Iraqiya correspondent Mohammed Ali, describing him as an "infidel" and "criminal" and offering $10,000 (125 million dinars) to anyone who eliminated him or helped locate him. Ali reportedly angered the group by criticizing its activities in his reports. During the year, there were at least 32 journalists killed, eight journalists abducted, and 12 media workers killed. More than 200 journalists and media workers have been killed since 2003, according to the NGO Committee to Protect Journalists.

Targeting of journalists continued throughout the reporting period. For example, gunmen on April 29 wounded Amal al-Moudares, one of Iraq's best known radio and television journalists, as she left her home in Baghdad. On September 3, gunmen killed Amir Malallah al-Rashidi, a sports journalist working for the Al-Mosuliya local television and Muhannad Ghanim al-Ubeidi, a journalist working for the Dar al-Salam radio station in Mosul. On September 24, unidentified gunmen killed Jawad Saadoun al-Daami, who worked for the Iraqi television station Al-Baghdadiya in Baghdad. On October 22, a correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Liberty disappeared while driving to an interview in Baghdad; police found his driver shot and left on the street. The correspondent remained missing at year's end. On October 27, Shehab Mohammed al-Hiti, a Sunni Arab editor of a Baghdad weekly newspaper al-Youm was killed on his way to the newspaper's office. One of the most widely reported killings of a media worker was that of well-known journalist and Al-Arabiya television reporter Atwar Bahjat who was abducted in February 2006 and killed later that year after reporting on the attack on the Al-Askariya Shrine. Her technician and cameraman were also killed."

Document(s): Open document

12.2007 - Source: UN Assistance Mission for Iraq

Journalist reporting on corruption detained; others writing about repression of freedom of press detained as well; journalist held in custody for 2 years; no access to legal counsel ("Human Rights Report (1 July - 31 December 2007)") [ID 24638]

"On 11 July, Hawlati reporter Rebaz Ahmed was detained by Sulaimaniya police, allegedly because of an article he had written on corruption in the city council.54 On 29 July, journalists Hashim Zebari and Mahdi Gaay were arrested and later released by Asayish Duhok after publishing articles in Hawlati and Regay Kurdistan criticizing the Kurdish authorities and the Asayish for restricting freedom of expression. On 19 September, police arrested Hawlati editor Tariq Fatih in Sulaimaniya, who was initially released on bail and re-arrested on 7 October. He had published a complaint by a citizen against a company owned by the brother of a KRG official. On 1 Oct, Askandar Hamad Amin, a journalist with the newspaper Jamawer, was arrested in Qala Diza district in Erbil after publishing an article on an alleged abduction. On 28 October, Muhammed Saro Kahya, editor of the Turcoman affairs magazine al-Ikha’, was said to have been arrested by Asayish personnel but his current whereabouts remained unknown. UNAMI also remained concerned about the case of journalist Srood Mukarram Fatih, who has been in the custody of Asayish Erbil since April 2007 without access to legal counsel; he is reportedly suspected of involvement in terror-related offences.55 The Committee to Protect Journalists had also reported a “rising number of physical attacks on the press” and “politicized lawsuits against outspoken newspapers” in Erbil and Sulaimaniya."

Document(s): Open document

28.06.2007 - Source: Reporters Sans Frontières

Baghdad: Two journalists killed; a third killed in Al-Khalis ("Two journalists killed in Baghdad, a third killed in Al-Khalis") [ID 20463]

"Reporters Without Borders has learned that three more Iraqi journalists were killed in the past two weeks. They bring the number of media workers killed in Iraq since the start of the year to 36. [...] A total of 187 journalists and media assistants have been killed since the start of the US-led invasion in March 2003. Two are missing and there has been no news of 14 others since they were kidnapped."

Document(s): Open document

18.06.2007 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Abducted newspaper editor found dead ("Body of abducted editor found in morgue") [ID 20470]

"The body of an Iraqi newspaper editor was found in Baghdad’s main morgue on Sunday, four days after he was abducted by armed men. Filaih Wuday Mijthab, who worked with the government-run daily Al-Sabah, suffered bullet wounds to the head, the independent news agency Aswat al-Iraq reported. [...] At least 14 journalists and 10 media support staffers from the government-run Iraq Media Network, which includes Al-Sabah, have been killed in Iraq since 2003—by far the largest casualty figure for a single news organization. [...] At least 108 journalists and 39 media support staffers have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, making Iraq the deadliest conflict for the press in CPJ’s 26-year history. About four in five media deaths have been Iraqis."

Document(s): Open document

14.06.2007 - Source: Reporters Sans Frontières

Government newspaper editor becomes 15th journalist currently held hostage in country ("Government newspaper editor becomes 15th journalist held hostage") [ID 20471]

"Journalists and media assistant, especially Iraqis, are often the targets of kidnapping, which has become commonplace in Iraq. A total of 79 media workers have been abducted since the start of the war in March 2003. Of these, 41 were eventually released, 23 were murdered and 15 are still being held."

Document(s): Open document

13.06.2007 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Baghdad: Iraqi journalist abducted ("Senior Iraqi Journalist Abducted In Baghdad") [ID 20621]

"Gunmen in a convoy of cars reportedly seized Filaih Wadi Mijthab, managing editor of the state-run "Al-Sabah" newspaper, while he was being driven with his son in eastern Baghdad. The son and driver were not taken. According to Reporters Without Borders, Mijthab's abduction would be the eighth of a journalist this year in Iraq."

Document(s): Open document

12.06.2007 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Mosul: Journalist Sahar al-Haideri killed by insurgents ("Requiem for a Brave Woman") [ID 20622]

Document(s): Open document

07.06.2007 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Mosul: Journalist abducted and killed ("Journalist who endured abductions, threats is slain in Mosul") [ID 20472]

"The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the murder of Sahar Hussein Ali al-Haydari, 44, a correspondent for the National Iraqi News Agency (NINA) and the independent news agency Aswat al-Iraq and a contributor to a number of other Iraqi media outlets. [...] At least 106 journalists, including al-Haydari, and 39 media support staffers have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, making Iraq the deadliest conflict for the press in CPJ's 26-year history. About four in five media deaths have been Iraqis."

Document(s): Open document

07.06.2007 - Source: Reporters Sans Frontières

Baghdad: Camera man and father of woman journalist murdered ("Baghdad media mourn two more deaths") [ID 20483]

Document(s): Open document

07.06.2007 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Mosul: Journalist Sahar Hussein al-Haideri murdered ("Reporter Latest Victim of Violence Against Women Journalists") [ID 20677]

"Haideri reported for a Mosul newspaper, the Voices of Iraq news agency, and the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, IWPR, where she had participated in numerous training and exchange programmes over the past three years. [...] Haideri had long been concerned about her security, and for the past year had contributed reports to IWPR under a pseudonym. Six months ago, her husband and four children moved to Damascus, and she had recently relocated to Syria herself.She was on a brief visit back to her home in Mosul. Several individuals confronted her as she left her house on June 7 and shot her dead."

Document(s): Open document

01.06.2007 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

4 Journalists killed in one week ("Journalists slain in a bloody week in Iraq") [ID 20484]

Document(s): Open document

06.2007 - Source: Freedom House

Attacks on journalists ("Freedom in the World 2007") [ID 20737]

"Although the Iraqi media are not subject to direct government censorship, violent retributions against journalists have hindered their ability to report widely and objectively. Many have continued to persevere in spite of violence and political threats. As many as 130 journalists and media workers, most of them Iraqis, have been killed in Iraq since 2003. In the single most deadly attack against the media, assailants dressed in police uniforms stormed the al-Shabbiya satellite station building in October 2006, killing dozens of employees. Dozens of journalists were abducted in 2006 by insurgents and militias, or were detained without charge or disclosure of supporting evidence by U.S. forces, on suspicion of aiding and abetting insurgents. Bilal Hussein, a photographer, has been held without charge in U.S. custody since April for photographing insurgents in al-Anbar province."

Document(s): Open document

13.01.2007 - Source: Reporters Sans Frontières

Mosul: Journalist murdered; Baghdad: Journalist found dead ("Journalist murdered in Mosul, another found dead in Baghdad") [ID 20181]

Document(s): Open document

07.01.2007 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Experts have raised concerns saying that if professionals continue fleeing Iraq on a daily basis the country will be depleted of academics and the level of education in Iraq will drop drastically ("The exodus of academics has compromised educational standards") [ID 19146]

"According to the Ministry of Higher Education, at least 280 academics have been killed since the US-led invasion in 2003 by insurgents and militias.

"The targeting of such academics is generating a mess in our country. The health and educational systems are depleted of good professionals. Nearly one third of those living in Iraq before 2003 have fled violence," said Dr. Mustafa Jaboury, a research investigator at the Ministry of Higher Education.

"Shi'ite militias and Sunni insurgents are killing intellectuals to ensure Iraq is poorly managed and poorly governed," Jaboury added.

Jaboury noted that there has been an increase in the targeting of such professionals since the beginning of 2006."

Document(s): Open document

22.12.2006 - Source: Guardian

Deadliest country in the world for journalists in 2006, with 32 killed ("Iraq 'deadliest place for journalists'") [ID 18191]

Document(s): Open document

20.12.2006 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

According to report, violence claimed the lives of 32 journalists in 2006, the deadliest year for representatives of the media in a single country that the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has ever recorded ("Iraq War Said To Be Deadliest Ever For Journalists") [ID 18195]

Document(s): Open document

12.12.2006 - Source: Reporters Sans Frontières

Media allowed to cover parliamentary sessions again, but placed under surveillance; APTN cameraman shot dead in Mosul ("Media allowed to cover parliamentary sessions again, but placed under surveillance; APTN cameraman shot dead in Mosul ") [ID 18067]

Document(s): Open document

11.12.2006 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Al-Hurra correspondent shot and wounded ("Al-Hurra correspondent shot and wounded") [ID 18068]

Document(s): Open document

05.12.2006 - Source: Reporters Sans Frontières

Baghdad: News radio journalist gunned down ("News radio journalist gunned down in Baghdad") [ID 18070]

Document(s): Open document

27.11.2006 - Source: Reporters Sans Frontières

2 state media employees killed; since 2003 more than 130 journalists and media assistants have been killed ("Two state media employees killed in past five days") [ID 19218]

Document(s): Open document

22.11.2006 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Murder of an Iraqi journalist in the city of Baqubah near Baghdad; killing of two media support workers in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul ("Journalist, two media workers murdered") [ID 19221]

Document(s): Open document

15.11.2006 - Source: Reporters Sans Frontières

More attacks on media personnel in Baghdad, Mosul and Baquba ("More armed attacks on media personnel in Baghdad, Mosul and Baquba") [ID 19227]

Document(s): Open document

13.11.2006 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Iraqi TV journalist shot in Mosul ("Iraqi TV journalist gunned down in Mosul") [ID 19230]

Document(s): Open document

02.11.2006 - Source: Reporters Sans Frontières

Freelance journalist found dead 13 days after being abducted ("Freelance journalist found dead 13 days after being abducted") [ID 19245]

Document(s): Open document

11.08.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Focus on increasing threats against Iraqi journalists ("original document") [ID 10407]

"Journalists say they are being threatened and killed by organised mafia figures and resistance fighters believed to be loyal to former president Saddam Hussein. (...) Two reporters were killed in the northern city of Mosul because of their Kurdish ethnicity, probably the most chilling indictment of the dangers associated with being a journalist in Iraq (...)"

Document(s): original document

04.08.2004 - Source: Freedom House

Report focused on press freedom in Iraq ("Liberated and Occupied Iraq: new beginnings and challenges for press freedom") [#24479],  [ID 10408]

Document(s): Open document

17.05.2004 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Special report on Iraqi journalists ("original document") [ID 10409]

Report focused on the situation for journalists in Iraq: 27 journalists have been killed covering the war and its aftermath

Document(s): original document

11.03.2004 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Report documenting attacks on the press in 2003 ("Attacks on the press in 2003") [#20314],  [ID 10410]

Document(s): Open document

30.10.2003 - Source: BBC News

US 'targets' journalists in Iraq ("BBC World News: US 'targets' journalists in Iraq") [ID 10414]

"The Arabic TV network al-Jazeera has accused US-led forces in Iraq of harassment, after one of its journalists was detained this week.
Cameraman Samer Hamza was freed on Wednesday after two days in custody. Al-Jazeera's editor told BBC News Online that this and other incidents suggest his organisation is being deliberately targeted by US troops. And the advocacy group Reporters Sans Frontieres urged US forces to do more to respect journalists working in Iraq."

Document(s): BBC World News: US 'targets' journalists in Iraq

29.10.2003 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Concern over safety for journalists following editor's death ("IRIN: Concern over safety for journalists following editor's death") [ID 10415]

"Watchdog groups for journalists have raised concern over the death of a newspaper editor in northern Iraq, calling for increased protection. "It was very tragic and unfortunate," the human rights and safety officer for the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Sarah Dejong, told IRIN from Belgium on Wednesday."

Document(s): IRIN: Concern over safety for journalists following editor's death

28.10.2003 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Editor of the Iraqi weekly Bilah Ittijah (Without Direction) killed by an unknown gunman in Mosul ("Editor killed") [#17217],  [ID 10416]

Document(s): Open document

10.2003 - Source: International Federation of Journalists

Justice denied on the road to Baghdad: Safety of Journalists and the Killing of Media Staff During the Iraq War ("IFJ - International Federation of Journalists: Justice denied on the road to Baghdad") [ID 10417]

"This report provides a brief overview of events. It examines the unexplained deaths and poses questions that must be answered, it discusses the need for long-overdue changes in international law to give new levels of protection for media staff, it reports on the experiences of some journalists – “embedded” and “unilateral” – and, finally, it rallies support for the the cause of the International News Safety Institute, a new global campaign to improve journalists’ safety. The Iraq war, like so many before it, provides confirmation that the safety of journalists and media staff must be paramount. It's a simple truth, but one still not understood by governments and many negligent media organisations."

Document(s): IFJ - International Federation of Journalists: Justice denied on the road to Baghdad

08.04.2003 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

3 journalists killed and several injured in U.S. military strikes against known media locations in Baghdad ("Iraq: CPJ condemns journalists' deaths in Iraq") [#11979],  [ID 10422]

Document(s): Open document