(RSF/IFEX) – In an 8 October letter to Ouddai Hussein, chairman of the Union of Journalists, RSF expressed its deepest concern over the case of Hachem Hasan, a journalist arrested at the end of September 1999. He is the editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Azzaoura”, which is owned by Ouddai, President Saddam Hussein’s eldest son. RSF […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In an 8 October letter to Ouddai Hussein, chairman of the Union
of Journalists, RSF expressed its deepest concern over the case of Hachem
Hasan, a journalist arrested at the end of September 1999. He is the
editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Azzaoura”, which is owned by Ouddai,
President Saddam Hussein’s eldest son. RSF is “seriously worried that there
is a real risk that he will be tortured” and urged Ouddai Hussein to secure
his release.
According to information gathered by RSF, Hasan was arrested by Iraqi
security forces in the Jordanian border town of El Kadissia, and detained in
Tribel province. Iraqi agents say that the journalist was travelling with a
false passport. A few days earlier, Hasan was asked by Ouddai Hussein to
become editor of “Arrafidayne” magazine. The journalist refused and tried to
leave the country.
