Recent murders of two Iraqi media workers condemned by UNESCO chief

The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom today voiced grave concern about the safety of journalists in Iraq following the recent murder of two reporters, Adel Mohsen Hussien and Wahdan Al-Hamdani.

Mr. Hussien, 43, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq on 2 December, according to a news release issued by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He was a writer and journalist who worked for several Iraqi media and a representative of the Iraqi Journalists Rights Defense Association.

Mr. Al-Hamdani, a television journalist, was killed on 27 November while covering a funeral in Basra. He worked as a cameraman for Baghdad-based satellite channel Al Taghee.

“It is essential that the authorities investigate and bring to justice those responsible for crimes against media workers that affect the whole of Iraqi society,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova.

The two latest deaths bring to seven the number of journalists killed in Iraq this year.