UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...

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them of deliberately under-reporting MNF/ISF casualties. 588 Employees of Iraqi Media Net, a state-run newspaper, TV and radio network set up following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, have been a frequent target of attacks. 589 Al-Iraqiya, the network’s TV station, has had more employees killed than any other media outlet since 2003. 590 For example, Amjad Hameed, the head of the network’s television channel, Al-Iraqiya, was killed on 12 March 2006. The Mujahideen Consultative Council, in a statement on its website, claimed responsibility for the killing of Hameed and his driver. The statement read: “Your brothers in the military wing of the Mujahideen Council murdered Amjad Hameed Hassan, the director of Al-Iraqiya ... We consider this TV station to be the mouthpiece of the government ... always ready to broadcast lies about jihad and the mujahideen to please the crusaders.” 591 RSF said on 15 February 2007: “There are reports of threats, physical attacks, kidnappings and murders day after day. Gunmen continue to target journalists on the street in broad daylight with complete impunity. This endemic violence is jeopardising the quality and diversity of news and information in Iraq.” 592 Acts committed against journalists and other media professionals vary from verbal harassment and threats to individuals and their families, to kidnapping, physical attacks and murder. According to UNAMI HRO, “journalists and media workers are among the most frequently targeted group”. In November and December 2006 alone, 12 journalists were killed. 593 While many killings took place in Baghdad, Mosul has increasingly become a very dangerous place for journalists. During 2006, 12 journalists were murdered there. 594 Reuters reported in January 2007 that many journalists, including its own staff, had left Mosul. 595 To better ensure their safety, many journalists move houses frequently or live 588 Reuters Alertnet, Feature – Beyond Baghdad, Mosul plagued by violence too, 23 January 2007, http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/01/23/beyond_baghdad_mosul_plagued_by_vio lence_too/. 589 Sinan Salaheddin, Gunmen kill Iraqi journalist working for state-run newspaper, AP Worldstream, 23 November 2006, http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php?refid=DH-S-23-11-2006&article=12031. See also “Government Officials and Other Persons Associated With the Current Iraqi Government, Administration and Institutions”. 590 RSF, 11th Al-Iraqiya employee gunned down in Baghdad, 31 May 2006, http://www.rsf.org/article.php 3?id_article=17867. 591 Ibidem, Two arrests made in the murder of Al-Iraqiya’s director, 13 March 2006, http://www.rsf.org/ article.php3?id_article=16718. Other examples include the killing of Naqsheen Hamad, a sports presenter at Al-Iraqiya, on 29 October 2006 in Baghdad. Another Al-Iraqiya sports anchorman, Ali Jaafar, was shot dead in May 2006; see Reuters Alertnet, Iraqi state TV sports presenter and driver killed, 29 October 2006, http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PAR941347.htm. On 7 May 2006, a car-bomb exploded in the garage of the building housing the offices of the state-run newspaper Al-Sabah, killing a printing worker and injuring about 20 journalists; RSF, Car-bomb attacks on Al-Sabah newspaper and hotel used by foreign journalists, 29 August 2006, http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=18684. 592 RSF, More violence against journalists amid continuing impunity, 15 February 2007, http://www.rsf.org/ article.php3?id_article=21016. 593 UNAMI HRO, December 2006 Human Rights Report, p. 14, see above footnote 10. 594 Ibidem, p. 25. 595 Reuters Alertnet, 23 January 2007, see above footnote 588. 114
inside the media compound, refrain from telling their families about their work and insist that they are not credited by name in news reports. 596 Fear of attacks undermines freedom of speech in Iraq as journalists carefully weigh what they write and often apply self-censorship. 597 In addition, journalists and publications also face legal prosecution by the authorities for “defaming” government officials. According to information from the New York Times, around a dozen Iraqi journalists have been charged with offending government officials. 598 A number of media outlets have been closed for “inciting violence”, including Al-Arabiya, a Dubai-based satellite news channel, which was banned for one month in early September. 599 Aljazeera was initially closed for one month in August 2004, but was finally banned from Iraq in September 2004. 600 The Baghdad studios of privately-owned satellite TV Al-Charkiya, which was accused of “inciting sectarian violence” for showing footage of Iraqis mourning the death of former President Saddam Hussein, were closed on 1 January 2007. 601 Based on the 2004 Law of Safeguarding National Security, 602 the Iraqi authorities ordered the closure, on 5 November 2006, of Sunni TV stations Al-Zawra and Salah-Eddin for showing footage of demonstrators brandishing pictures of the former president and protesting his death sentence. Both stations were accused of inciting sectarian violence and have not been allowed to resume broadcasting. UNAMI HRO reported that a former reporter for Al-Zawra TV station, who lived in Baghdad’s Al-Zaafaraniya District, received a threatening letter on 25 November 2006. Reportedly, on 1 December 2006, gunmen came looking for her, but she had already moved out to another area. 603 The Iraqi 596 Ibid. See also: Paul von Zielbauer, Iraqi Journalists Add Laws to List of Dangers, The New York Times, 29 November 2006, http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/09/29/africa/web.0926journo.php; IRIN, Iraq: Fighting swords with pens, see above footnote 582; Al-Atraqchi, see above footnote 582. 597 See, for example, Reuters, Third Reuters Iraq Journalist Freed by US troops, 17 February 2007, http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=27915; UNAMI HRO, October 2006 Human Rights Report, p. 11, see above footnote 66; IFJ, IFJ Calls for Release of Journalist Held in Iraq for More Than Six Months, 6 November 2006, http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?index=4353&Language=EN; Von Zielbauer, ibid. 598 Von Zielbauer, Iraqi Journalists Add Laws to List of Dangers, see above footnote 596. See also UNAMI HRO, October 2006 Human Rights Report, p. 11, see above footnote 66. DPA reported in November 2006 that Mosul’s local council issued an order to close down a publication called “Civil Society” because it published a cartoon depicting Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Maliki sitting on the lap of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and being breastfed by her. However, Mosul’s court refused to carry out the order, stating that this would stifle freedom of expression; see: IRIN, MIDDLE EAST: Weekly update of human rights violations in the region (10 Nov – 16 Nov 2006), Iraq: Three more Iraqi journalists gunned down, http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=61945. The Governor of Basrah warned journalists from giving a “false message to the media regarding the security situation in Basra”, threatening that they would be sued in court if they did so; see UNAMI HRO, October 2006 Human Rights Report, p. 10-11, see above footnote 66; UNAMI HRO, August 2006 Human Rights Report, p. 8, see above footnote 26. 599 BBC News, Al-Arabiya ordered out of Baghdad, 8 September 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/ middle_east/5325290.stm. 600 Ibidem, Iraq extends ban on al-Jazeera TV, 4 September 2004, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_ east/3628398.stm. 601 RSF, TV studio shut down for “incitement to violence” after showing footage of Saddam mourners, 2 January 2007, http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=20296. 602 See “National Security”. 603 UNAMI HRO, December 2006 Human Rights Report, p. 11, see above footnote 10. 115
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UNHCR’s ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FO
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iii) Current Situation ............
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a) Overall Situation ..............
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IOM International Organization for
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A. Current Situat
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and gatherings, Shi’ite religious
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Government Officials and Other Pers
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Iraqi Asylum-Seekers From Central a
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considered to be well-founded. To t
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affiliated with criminal groups. In
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expand on the legal and policy guid
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The general chaos following the inv
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countries. While a good part of the
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evenues. 41 An understanding of var
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Article 140 of the Constitution cal
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the Middle East in terms of women
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epealed the CPA’s decision to sus
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The Iraqi judiciary continues to be
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Several groups, including the Mujah
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Al-Sunna. In addition, members of t
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dominated Special Police Commando u
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military commander in Iraq, General
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IV. PARTICULAR GROUPS AT RISK A. Re
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to Osama Bin Laden, the Shi’ites
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Shi’ite militias on the other han
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underscored how explosive the confl
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of the latest security crack-down i
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Ninewa Plains in particular have be
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The overall climate results in non-
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efuge in the three Northern Governo
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Page 85 and 86: KRG. Mr. Falak Al-Deen Kakai, senio
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Page 89 and 90: government offices, 441 and changin
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Page 93 and 94: 2. Roma (Kawliyah) 461 a) Introduct
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Page 105 and 106: Acts committed against employees or
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Page 125 and 126: International Covenant on Civil and
Page 127 and 128: evidence that over forty people had
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Page 131 and 132: V. ELIGIBILITY FOR INTERNATIONAL PR
Page 133 and 134: those countries, even only on a tem
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Page 137 and 138: cause. 733 More than one Convention
Page 139 and 140: C. Exclusion From International Ref
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Page 151 and 152: D. Internal Flight or Relocation Al
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In order to access the three Northe
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Governorate of Sulaymaniyah Persons
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v. Risk of Persecution or Other Ser
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In addition, non-Kurdish persons, p
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Conclusion Availability of an inter
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to flee Iraq have done so illegally
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explosives blew up. Two people were
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• On 2 July 2003, an armed assaul
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• 18 September 2006: Gunmen kille
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• 17 December 2003: An angry mob
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Annex IV: Attacks on Government Off
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• 2 May 2006: A suicide car bombe
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• 5 December 2006: Dr. Mohammed H
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Annex VI: Attacks on Doctors and Ot
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• 1 July - 31 August 2006: Accord
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Annex VIII: Attacks on Athletes and
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Annex IX: Attacks on Palestinian Re
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Palestinian family fled the hospita
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Annex X: Selected Bibliography Note
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IWPR, Baghdad Gays Fear for Their L
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Senanayake, Sumedha, Iraq: Ethnic T
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W Wilson, Scott, Iraqis Killing For
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