The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the latest assassination attempt on the life of Moaid Al-Lami, President of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate (IJS).

Gunmen opened fire on his convoy on Sunday evening. Al-Lami escaped injury, but his driver, Emad Hamdy, was seriously hurt in the attack. 

“We are deeply relieved that Moaid has survived unharmed, but we are furious that such an attack is still able to take place on the streets of Baghdad,” said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. “The authorities must make good on their commitments to protect journalists and prosecute their attackers.”

Al-Lami was first attacked in a bomb blast almost exactly 18 months ago, 20^th September 2008, that left him with a shattered arm that took several months to recover. That attack came only two months after his election following the assassination of his predecessor Shibab Al-Tamimi in February 2008.

The IFJ says this is just the latest in a series of attacks on critical journalists. While the Iraqi journalists’ death toll has dropped markedly as violence has subsided there is a growing threat to those journalists who remain defiantly professional in the face of political pressure.

Al Lami, who works closely with the IFJ, has been determined to protect the independence of the IJS and is leading IJS campaigns to encourage more professionalism inside Iraqi journalism.

The IFJ has supported IJS proposals for a new media law to protect journalists, to guarantee their independence and to protect their legal and social conditions and is urging the new Parliamentary Assembly to pass the law as soon as possible.

The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 125 countries worldwide 

For more information contact the IFJ at   +32 2 235 2207