UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...

There are a number of possible motives behind attacks on journalists and media workers.
The ongoing sectarianism has increasingly politicized the media sector in Iraq and most
media outlets are affiliated with a sectarian or political bloc. Journalists fall victim to
revenge killings, in particular when they become involved in controversial political issues
or describe corruption or human rights violations committed by certain persons or groups.
Sectarian violence also took its toll on journalists, with gunmen targeting journalists whom
they accuse of siding with either Sunnis or Shi’ites. 582 For example, on 18 September 2006,
Ahmed Riyadh Al-Karbouli, a correspondent for Baghdad TV, which is owned by the Iraqi
Islamic Party, was shot by gunmen in Ramadi. Al-Karbouli worked at Baghdad TV for two
years covering security and the situation of the residents of Ramadi. According to CPJ
sources, “his reports offended some insurgents in Ramadi who felt he was criticizing them.”
One month before the killing, gunmen had stormed into his house and threatened him in
front of his family. 583
The most deadly attack on members of the Iraqi media took place on 12 October 2006,
when gunmen wearing police uniforms stormed the offices of Al-Shabbiya, a new satellite
television station in Baghdad. Eleven employees, including its founder and director, Abdul
Rahim Nasralla Al-Shameri, were killed. The identity and motive of the killers were not
known, but Shi’ite militias or police units are suspected to have carried out the attack for
sectarian reasons. 584 The channel had only transmitted some test broadcasts of patriotic
music and videos as it was to officially start two days later. Reportedly, it was aimed at
a mainly Sunni audience. 585 In another example, journalist Fadia Mohamed Ali and her
driver were killed on her way to work. According to UNAMI HRO, there are strong
indications that she was targeted by elements of the Iraqi Police as she had repeatedly
written about police corruption and misconduct during raids. 586
Journalists have also been targeted for “collaborating” with the MNF or the “West”, in
particular when they work for foreign (especially English-speaking) media outlets. 587 For
example, it was reported that journalists in Mosul received threatening letters accusing
582
RSF, Iraq – Annual Report 2007, see above footnote 580; see also IRIN, Iraq: Fighting swords with pens,
27 November 2006, http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=61967; Kirk Semple and Qais Mizher,
Gunmen Kill 11 Employees of a Satellite Television Station in Baghdad, The New York Times, 13 October
2006, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/13/world/middleeast/13iraq.html; BBC News, Gunmen kill eight in
Iraq TV raid, 12 October 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6043158.stm; Firas Al-Atraqchi, Iraqi
journalists stare death in the face, Al Jazeera, 9 October 2006, http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/
9175100C-8FD3-4D90-9068-EF2361935EF3.htm. See also “Shi’ites and Sunnis Civilians”.
583
CPJ, IRAQ: TV correspondent murdered in Ramadi, 18 September 2006, http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/
mideast/iraq18sept06na.html.
584
Semple and Mizher, see above footnote 582; BBC News, Gunmen kill eight in Iraq TV raid, 12 October
2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6043158.stm.
585
Ibid.
586
UNAMI HRO, December 2006 Human Rights Report, p. 14, see above footnote 10.
587
RSF, Iraq – Annual Report 2007, see above footnote 580; IRIN, Iraq: Fighting swords with pens, see
above footnote 582. See also “Actual or Perceived Sympathizers of the US-Led Invasion and/or the Multi-
National Force in Iraq”.
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