THE National Union of Journalists in Iraq (Nuji) is holding the government and security services responsible for the safety of a reporter kidnapped in the capital Baghdad on Monday.
Tawfiq al-Tamimi was travelling to the offices of the newspaper Al-Sabah with colleagues when their vehicle was stopped.
Al-Sabah editor Ali Al-Fawaz said the journalists’ route was blocked, their phones stolen and Mr Tamimi kidnapped.
He said that Mr Tamimi “has no problems in his journalistic work and until now we do not know the reasons for his kidnapping.”
Al-Sabah — The Morning — is the national newspaper of Iraq. It was founded in 2003 after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Nuji warned that since the anti-government uprising began in October, journalists and media workers have been subjected to threats, kidnappings and assassinations due to their coverage of the demonstrations.
Dijlah TV reporter Ahmed Abdul Samad and camera operator Safaa Ghali were shot dead in Basra in January. On Monday the al-Wafaa radio and TV office in Najaf was struck by two missiles “causing serious damage to the building.”
Iraq remains in turmoil, with protesters demanding sweeping political change and an end to the current US-imposed system, which sees the government divided out on sectarian and religious lines.
They have called for an end to corruption, rejecting the appointment of Prime Minister Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, who they see as part of the elite they are trying to overthrow.
More than 600 people are believed to have been killed in the protests, with the country plagued by armed militias linked to various political and religious factions. Nuji spokesman Haider al-Maytham told the Morning Star that the government must act and provide safe spaces for journalists to carry out their work and uphold the principles of freedom of expression, as detailed in the Iraqi constitution.
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