Journalist gunned down outside his home in Mosul

Reporters Without Borders firmly condemns journalist Hilal Al-Ahmadi’s murder today in the northern city of Mosul. Ahmadi, who worked for two local weeklies, the Mosul Echo and Iraqiyoun, was gunned down outside his home. “We are extremely shocked and dismayed by Ahmadi’s death,” Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-François Julliard said. “The murders of journalists in Iraq are not letting up and generalized impunity is fuelling the cycle of violence. Very few of the 232 murders of media personnel in Iraq since 2003 have been thoroughly and conclusively investigated.” Julliard added: “We demand an investigation that establishes the precise reasons for this murder. Those responsible must be arrested and brought to justice. Impunity must not prevail in Iraq.” Ahmadi was leaving his home in the eastern suburb of Mithaq in order to go to work when men in car opened fire with a submachine-gun and then took off. He was hit several times and died on the spot. The police said they were investigating. The murder scene was cordoned off and Ahmadi’s body was taken to Mosul’s department of forensic medicine. Aged 50 and the father of four children, Ahmadi was dismissed two weeks ago as head of the Ninawa provincial government’s communication and media department. Colleagues said his newspaper articles drew attention to corruption and the lack of social services in the region.