29 August 2005

Alert

Reuters soundman killed by US sniper fire


Incident details

Waleed Khaled, Haider Kadhem

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(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has voiced outrage over the fatal shooting of Reuters TV soundman Waleed Khaled by US military sniper fire in Baghdad on 28 August 2005. The cameraman working with him, Haider Kadhem, sustained slight injuries and was detained by US soldiers.

"This incident in which Khaled was deliberately gunned down by five shots is extremely disturbing," the organisation said. "Our outrage is compounded by the fact that they arrested Kadhem, the only eyewitness, who was himself injured in the incident."

"The US high command must conduct an exhaustive enquiry and must take substantive measures to ensure that such a tragedy never recurs. We stress that this has become the deadliest war there has ever been for journalists," RSF added.

The Reuters TV crew had gone to cover an incident in which two Iraqi policemen were killed in the Hay al-Adil district of Baghdad. As they arrived, Khaled was hit by a shot in the face and four other shots in the chest, while Khadem was slightly hurt.

"I heard shooting, looked up and saw an American sniper on the roof of the shopping centre," Kadhem told other journalists who arrived seconds later. He was subsequently arrested by US soldiers. Reuters said he had still not been released six hours later. Other Iraqi journalists who arrived at the scene were also briefly detained, but were then released.

A US army statement said, "Task Force Baghdad units responded to a terrorist attack on an Iraqi police convoy [. . .] One civilian was killed and another was wounded by small-arms fire during the attack."

Khaled is the 66th journalist or media assistant to be killed in Iraq since the start of the war in March 2003. A total of 63 journalists were killed in the Vietnam war, which lasted from 1955 to 1975. Two other journalists are also missing in Iraq. ITV News cameraman Frédéric Nérac has been missing since 22 March 2003 and Suedostmedia cameraman Isam Hadi Muhsin Al-Shumary since 15 August 2004.



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Updates to this story

US Defence Department releases report confirming American soldiers' responsibility in fatal shooting of Reuters journalist 25 June 2008 Reuters inquiry finds US shooting death of journalist "unlawful" 11 April 2006 US army admits firing on Reuters crew 8 September 2005

At a glance

Iraq
Iraq
 
Key reports and information
  • Iraq’s Information Crimes Law

    Badly Written Provisions and Draconian Punishments Violate Due Process and Free Speech

    Human Rights Watch 12 July 2012

  • World Report 2012: Iraq

    "In April Iraq’s parliament approved a Journalists’ Protection Law, intended to protect media workers and compensate them for injuries sustained while working"

    Human Rights Watch 22 February 2012

  • Attacks on the Press in 2011: Iraq

    Iraq's impunity rate, "three times worse than any other nation"

    Committee to Protect Journalists 22 February 2012

  • Press Freedom Index 2011-2012: Iraq

    Iraq fell 22 places, from 130th to 152nd in annual press freedom index

    Reporters Without Borders 25 January 2012

 
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