Journalists Killed in 2006 - Motive Confirmed: So'oud Muzahim al-Shoumari
- Document source:
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Date:
January 2007
Al-Baghdadia
April 4, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq
Al-Shoumari, a correspondent for the Egypt-based satellite channel Al-Baghdadia, was found shot in Baghdad's southern district of Doura on April 4 by Iraqi police and taken to Yarmouk hospital morgue, his father told CPJ. Al-Shoumari, also know as al-Hadithi (the name of his family's hometown), was abducted on April 3.
Al-Shoumari was alone when he was seized, and his killers were not identified, sources told CPJ. Abdelhamid al-Sa'eh, director of news at the channel, said he suspected that al-Shoumari, a Sunni Muslim, was kidnapped by elements within the Shiite-dominated Iraqi police, but could not provide details.
Al-Shoumari had worked for Al-Baghdadia for approximately seven months. According to the Los Angeles Times, al-Shoumari regularly confronted Iraqi police about suspicions that they were committing extrajudicial killings. The channel's Baghdad director, Muhammad Fitian, and al-Shoumari's father both told CPJ they were not aware of confrontations with the police.
A colleague at Al-Baghdadia said al-Shoumari regularly interviewed authorities about human rights violations and the daily suffering of the Iraqi people. Al-Shoumai did on-camera reporting and anchored a news program.
Al-Baghdadia was critical of the Iraqi government and the U.S. military presence in Iraq, according to The Associated Press. Baghdad's southern district of Doura was a hotbed of violence, and dead bodies were frequently discovered in the neighborhood.
| Medium: | Television |
| Job: | Broadcast Reporter |
| Beats Covered: | Corruption, Human Rights, War |
| Gender: | Male |
| Local or Foreign: | Local |
| Freelance: | No |
| Type of Death: | Murder |
| Suspected Source of Fire: | Political Group |
| Impunity: | Yes |
| Taken Captive: | Yes |
| Tortured: | No |
| Threatened: | No |
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