Murderer of Journalist in Iraq Must Pay for Crime, says IFJ

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called for the Iraqi government to ensure the soldier who murdered the journalist, Mohamed Bdaiwy, in Baghdad on Saturday, March 22, faces the full weight of justice.  

According to the IFJ affiliate, the Iraqi Journalists’ Syndicate, Bdaiwy, the Baghdad bureau chief of Radio Free Iraq and media professor at al Mustansiriya university in Baghdad, was shot in the head by the Kurdish officer at a checkpoint in the city as he drove his car to work.
The attack provoked protests by other journalists in support of their colleague, Bdaiwy. Following a call from the IJS, Iraqi newspapers working in Baghdad didn’t go to print on Sunday in protest, demanding immediate action from the government.In response to the outcry, the Prime Minister of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki, personally visited the site of the murder and the soldier has been arrested.The IFJ has condemned the “heinous crime” and demanded that the soldier is held fully accountable for his actions and pays for his crime.  “We express our condolences to the family and colleagues of the highly regarded journalist, Mohamed Bdaiwy, who leaves behind a wife and three children,” said IFJ President Jim Boumelha. “We fully back the call of our union, the IJS, for the soldiers who carried out this horrific act to face the full and swifts weight of justice.” For more information, please contact IFJ on +32 2 235 22 17The IFJ represents more than 600 000 journalists in 134 countries