UNESCO chief deplores murder of three more Iraqi journalists

Condemning the murder of three more journalists in Iraq, the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today again stressed how vital it is for Iraqi society as a whole that all possible measures be taken to ensure the safety of media workers in the war-torn country.

“It is chilling to see the heavy toll paid in Iraq by journalists, editors and other media professionals killed for exercising the basic human right of freedom of expression,” UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura said in a statement. “Their murderers are not serving the interests of the people of Iraq by undermining the development of democracy and rule of law.

“It is vital for the sake of Iraqi society as a whole that the criminals who use violence to silence journalists be brought to justice and that all possible measures be taken to ensure the safety of media workers in Iraq,” he added.

Safa Isma’il Enad, 31, a freelance photographer, was shot on 12 September by two gunmen in a photo print shop in Baghdad; Hadi Anawi al-Joubouri, 56, a journalist and representative of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate in the eastern province of Diyala, was killed in an ambush the same day about 200 kilometres northeast of Baghdad; and Abdel Karim al-Rubai, 40, an editor for the daily newspaper Al-Sabah, was shot on his way to work in Baghdad on 9 September.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that 79 journalists and 28 media support workers have been killed in Iraq since March 20, 2003, making it the deadliest conflict for the profession in the past 25years. Murder accounts for 64 per cent of work-related deaths among journalists and media support workers in Iraq, with crossfire and combat-related deaths accounting for the rest, according to the CPJ.

UNESCO has a mandate to defend freedom of expression and press freedom, and Mr. Matsuura has issued frequent condemnations of the murder of journalists around the world.