Journalist Zubair Hatami, who was seriously injured during a Taliban suicide attack on a French-run school in Kabul, Afghanistan succumbed to his wounds in hospital.
This statement was originally published on afjc.org on 21 December 2014.
An Afghan journalist, who was seriously injured during a Taliban suicide attack on a French-run school in Kabul, succumbed to his wounds in hospital on Sunday December 21, 2014.
One German man was also killed and 20 other people wounded in the attack on December 11 during a performance in the packed auditorium of the French Institute of Afghanistan in the capital Kabul.
The performance was entitled “Heartbeat, The Silence After The Explosion”. The dance and music show condemned the regular suicide attacks in Kabul and across the rest of Afghanistan.
Zubair Hatami, a journalist and cameraman for local Mitra TV in Kabul, was seriously injured and died after 10 days in a coma.
Adul Jabar Aryayee the head of Mitra TV, told AFP the journalist died at around midnight.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid had claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying the performance was “desecrating Islamic values” and was “propaganda against jihad” – particularly against suicide attacks.
The cultural centre is located in the centre of Kabul, not far from the presidential palace. It shares its grounds with the Istiqlal school, a French-financed institution that has taught generations of Afghan children.
Also on Sunday, the Media Association wrote a complaint to the Presidential Palace and demanded a serious investigation into the brazen attack.
Scores of media professionals attended the funeral for the Mitra TV journalist in Deh Mazang area. The association members drafted the complaint and affixed their signatures to it at Hatami’s home.
Member of parliament Ghulam Farooq, who also attended the funeral, called terror a sinister threat to the Afghans and the journalist community. He condemned the authorities for failing to pay proper heed to the cameraman’s treatment.
But the head of Mitra TV said they had done their best to ensure the best possible treatment of Hatami. He said they had repeatedly tried to take the journalist abroad, but Emergency Hospital doctors did not agree.
