Radio Free Europe correspondent freed after two weeks as hostage

Reporters Without Borders welcomes the release yesterday of Jumana Al-Obaidi, an Iraqi journalist employed by the US radio station Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), who was kidnapped on 22 October while on her way to the environment ministry in Baghdad for an interview. Her driver was shot dead shortly after her abduction. “All of us are very relieved that Jumana's ordeal is now over,” RFE/RL president Jeffrey Gedmin said. “Journalists like Jumana put their lives on the line every day. They are dedicated journalists, brave people, and Iraqi patriots. We are proud to know them.” An RFE/RL spokesperson told Reporters Without Borders that Obaidi “is in relatively good shape and is currently in a safe place.” The identity of her kidnappers and the circumstances of her release have not been made known. Reporters Without Borders points out that there is no news of the current whereabouts or fate of 14 other journalists taken hostage in Iraq. --------- 23.10.07 : Radio Free Europe correspondent missing, probably kidnapped, her driver shot dead Reporters Without Borders today said it was extremely worried by the disappearance of an Iraqi correspondent of the US-funded Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). Her driver's body was found after she went missing yesterday in Baghdad. Two RFE/RL correspondents have already been killed since the start of the year. “The circumstances of her disappearance suggest she could have been kidnapped,” the press freedom organisation said. “The number of kidnappings of journalists has fallen this year, compared with the previous two years, but yesterday's development suggests that the threat still exists. Journalists working for government-funded media, especially those funded by the US government, continue to be a favourite target of the armed militia operating in Iraq.” In the past four years, Iraq has become one the world's biggest centres for hostage-taking. A total of 85 media workers have been kidnapped since the US-led invasion in March 2003. Of these, 43 have been released, 27 have been murdered by their abductors, and the fate of the other 15, including the RFE/RL correspondent, is unknown. Iraq is also the world's deadliest country for the media, with a total of 205 journalists and media assistants murdered there since March 2003. The name of the RFE/RL correspondent who went missing yesterday has not been released. RFE/RL said police found her driver's body in the northeast Baghdad neighbourhood of Al-Bonuk. He had been shot dead. So far, no trace of the journalist or her car has been found and no group has claimed responsibility for her abduction. The two RFE/RL correspondents already killed this year are Khamail Khalaf and Nizar Al-Radhi. Khalaf was kidnapped by two gunmen as he left his office in Baghdad on 3 April. His body was found two days later. Radhi was killed when gunmen opened fire on a group of journalists who had gone to a news conference in the city of Amara, 365 km south of Baghdad, on 30 May.