(WAN/IFEX) – On 27 August 1998, WAN asked Iraq to disclose the whereabouts of journalist Dawoud al-Farhan of the Cairo-based Middle East News Agency, who was arrested in Baghdad in July and hasn’t been heard from since. **This alert contains information further to an IFEX alert of 21 August 1998** “We are concerned that his […]
(WAN/IFEX) – On 27 August 1998, WAN asked Iraq to disclose the whereabouts
of journalist Dawoud al-Farhan of the Cairo-based Middle East News Agency,
who was arrested in Baghdad in July and hasn’t been heard from since.
**This alert contains information further to an IFEX alert of 21 August
1998**
“We are concerned that his arrest might be in connection with recent
articles he had published on corruption and embezzlement by Iraqi government
officials,” WAN said in a letter to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Mr. al-Farhan, a senior journalist and reporter for the Middle East News
Agency and a columnist for the daily “Al-Iraq” and the weekly “Al-Mousawar
Al Arabi”, was arrested at his Baghdad office and taken to the Ministry of
Information. Every effort by his family to determine his place of detention
and the reason for his arrest has failed.
“We respectfully urge you to ensure that the authorities responsible for Mr.
al-Farhan’s arrest make a clear statement as to the reasons for his
detention and his whereabouts,” WAN President Bengt Braun wrote to President
Hussein.
“Furthermore, in accordance with the laws of natural justice, we call on you
to ensure that Mr. al-Farhan is either charged with an internationally
recognised crime, or is released immediately and unconditionally,” the
letter said.
