Two journalists murdered in four days

Reporters Without Borders today deplored the murder of TV journalist Jawad al-Daami, of the satellite TV station Al-Baghdadiya, who was shot dead in Baghdad on 23 September, less than a week after the killing of Muhannad Ghanem Ahmed, of radio Dar Al Salam, in the northern city of Mosul. “The plight of the Iraqi media continues to be disastrous,“ the wordwide press freedom organisation said. “Ever since fighting began in 2003, journalists have been killed and the toll is likely to be higher this year than last, which was already very high. 55 journalists and media assistants have been killed so far this year. We once again call on the authorities to thoroughly investigate these murders so as to end the impunity enjoyed by the predators of press freedom.” Ghanem Ahmed was gunned down near a mosque in the Muharibin suburb of eastern Mosul on 20 September and his attackers escaped. He was the sixth journalist to be killed in the city this year. Baghdad is still the most deadly city for journalists and 35 have been killed there this year. TV journalist Al-Daami, 40, was killed in his car in the western suburb of Al-Qadissiya. He had worked for Al-Baghdadiya for the past year. Another journalist with the station, Mazahem al-Hadithi, was executed in June last year, five days after being kidnapped. Since the Iraq fighting began more than four years ago, 203 media workers have been killed and 83 kidnapped, 14 of whom are apparently still being held.