(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called for the immediate release of Iraqi journalist Majed Fadhil Zaboun, of the independent daily “Al-Fourat”. Zaboun has been held by US military forces since he was arrested on the Syrian border, on 28 February 2005, as he was returning from a conference in Damascus. “This is not the first time […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called for the immediate release of Iraqi journalist Majed Fadhil Zaboun, of the independent daily “Al-Fourat”. Zaboun has been held by US military forces since he was arrested on the Syrian border, on 28 February 2005, as he was returning from a conference in Damascus.
“This is not the first time that US forces have arbitrarily detained a journalist in Iraq,” RSF said. “Even in an area of sensitive operations, it is important that the armed forces continue to respect the work of professional journalists. The US authorities must either explain why they have been holding this journalist all this time, or free him at once.”
Reached by telephone, “Al-Fourat” editor Shaker Al-Jabbouri said he was “outraged” by Zaboun’s arrest. “Everyone knows Majed Fadhil Zaboun, he is a respected writer and journalist,” Al-Jabbouri said. “This illegal arrest is a flagrant violation of his rights. The Americans suspect everyone and don’t hesitate to imprison innocents. This is not what I call democracy.”
Zaboun, who is the cultural editor for “Al-Fourat”, went to Damascus on 22 February with a delegation of Iraqi poets to cover a conference. When they did not hear from him several days after his scheduled return, his colleagues became concerned and began to look for him. It was not until 3 March, when they called the US embassy in Baghdad, that they learned he had been arrested. Officials at the embassy gave their assurances that they would “do everything necessary” to get Zaboun released.
An independent, Arabic-language newspaper founded in 2003, “Al-Fourat” specialises in political analysis for Iraq and the rest of the Middle East. It has a circulation of 10,000 and is distributed throughout the country.
