Iraq

(WAN/IFEX) – The following is a WAN press release: Paris, 7 February 2005 Outrage Over Abduction of Italian Journalist The World Association of Newspapers is outraged by the abduction in Iraq of Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, a reporter for the Il Manifesto daily, who was kidnapped by armed men as she conducted interviews on 4 […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release: Iraq: Italian Journalist Abducted New York, February 4, 2005 – The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the abduction of an Italian journalist today in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. Gunmen seized Giuliana Sgrena, a reporter for the Rome-based Italian daily Il Manifesto, near Baghdad University, […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has expressed serious concern over the disappearance of Florence Aubenas, a reporter with the French daily “Libération”, and her interpreter, Hussein Hanoun Al-Saadi. They have not been heard from since they left their Baghdad hotel on the morning of 5 January 2005. “We are terribly worried. The situation in Iraq is such […]

(RSF/IFEX) – The Associated Press news agency has reported that journalist Raad Beraiej al-Azzawi, of “Sada Wasit” newspaper, was released on 2 December 2004, after a US$7,000 ransom was paid to his kidnappers. Armed men who had set up a roadblock on the road south of Baghdad abducted the journalist on 26 November.

(RSF/IFEX) – The release of French journalists Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot, who have been held hostage in Iraq since 20 August 2004, is “the biggest Christmas present we could have hoped for,” RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard said on 21 December. “Yesterday we were still pessimistic as Georges and Christian began their fifth month in […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called on United States (US) military authorities to explain the continuing detention of Bakhtiar Haddad, an Iraqi interpreter of Kurdish origin who has been held for the past three weeks by US forces after being arrested in Fallujah on 8 November 2004, along with French freelance photographer Corentin Fleury. US officials […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned recent comments made by Iraqi Defence Minister Hazem Shaalan in an interview with an Arabic-language newspaper in which he accused the Qatar-based pan-Arab television station Al-Jazeera of being a “terrorist station.” RSF noted that it has often criticised the Iraqi interim government’s decision, more than three months ago, to close […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called on American forces in Falluja to release Abdel Kader Al-Saadi, a correspondent for Al-Arabiya satellite television, whom they arrested in the city on 11 November 2004. “We call for the immediate release of Abdel Kader Al-Saadi, who has been held for six days,” the organisation said in a 17 November […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has welcomed the 11 November 2004 rescue of Mohammed al-Joundi, the Syrian driver and interpreter for kidnapped French journalists Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot. “Al-Joundi’s release is a great relief and joy for everyone, especially his family, who have endured months of worry and distress,” the organisation said. “We remain shoulder to […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 12 November 2004 CPJ press release: IRAQ: Government instructs media to promote leadership’s positions New York, November 12, 2004 – The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disturbed by a new directive from Iraqi authorities that warns news organizations to reflect the government’s positions in their reporting or face […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 5 November 2004 CPJ press release: Army report finds no fault in Palestine Hotel shelling CPJ questions findings in long-awaited probe New York, November 5, 2004 – Nineteen months after a U.S. Army tank opened fire on a Baghdad hotel full of journalists, killing two and wounding three others, […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 2 November 2004 CPJ press release: CPJ CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO IRAQI JOURNALIST’S DEATH New York, November 2, 2004 – The Committee to Protect Journalists sent a letter today to U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld calling for a “thorough, immediate, and public investigation” into the death of freelance […]

(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is a 2 November 2004 IFJ media release: Killing of Journalists and Media Staff in 2004 at ‘Unprecedented Levels of Brutality’ Says IFJ as Total Nears 100 The targeted bomb attack on the Baghdad office of Arab television channel Al Arabiya at the weekend, in which a number of employees were […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release: Iraq: Baghdad car bomb kills five Al-Arabiya employees New York, November 1, 2004 – The Committee to Protect Journalist condemns this weekend’s car bomb attack against the Baghdad bureau of the Dubai-based satellite broadcaster Al-Arabiya. Five station employees were among the seven killed, and more than […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release: JOURNALIST KILLED IN IRAQ New York, November 1, 2004 – An Iraqi freelance cameraman was killed today in the western city of Ramadi, Reuters news agency has reported. Dhia Najim was shot in the head on Monday while covering fighting in his hometown of Ramadi, 70 […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 30 October 2004, a car bomb exploded outside the Baghdad offices of the pan-Arab television station Al-Arabiya, leaving seven people dead and at least 19 wounded, including employees of the station. “This attack is further evidence of the contempt that the parties to the conflict display for press freedom, without which there […]