Al-Anwar
July 27, 2007, in Baghdad, Iraq

An unidentified gunman shot al-Safi, a correspondent for the Kuwait-based Al-Anwar satellite channel, outside the channel's offices in Baghdad's north-central neighborhood of Al-Etifiyah, according to Bassem al-Safi, a member of the reporter's extended family and a fellow journalist.

Adnan Al-Safi had just finished work and was waiting for a public van to take him home when the shooting occurred at 3 p.m. on July 25, the relative said. Al-Safi, shot in the head, was taken to a Baghdad hospital, where he died 48 hours later.

Bassem al-Safi told CPJ that the journalist appeared to be targeted; bystanders were uninjured. He told the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, an Iraqi press freedom organization, that an armed group had been seen in the station's neighborhood. Al-Anwar is a moderate Shiite satellite channel focusing on Islamic culture and issues.

Adnan al-Safi founded and headed the Islamic Press Union in 2005, which held workshops and lectures on television, radio, and print journalism, said the relative, a fellow member of the union. The victim, who was in his late 30s, also worked for radio station Sawt al-Iraq and served as an adviser in the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, according to the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory. He was survived by a wife and three children.

Medium:Television
Job:Broadcast Reporter
Beats Covered:Culture, Politics
Gender:Male
Local or Foreign:Local
Freelance:No
Type of Death:Murder
Suspected Source of Fire:Political Group
Impunity:Yes
Taken Captive:No
Tortured:No
Threatened:No

 

Disclaimer: © Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ.

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.