Media Release

27 October 2006

IFJ Condemns Killing of Iraqi Journalist as Media Death Toll Hits 154

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the killing of Iraqi journalist Saed Mahdi Shalash and his wife in an attack on their home.

On Thursday unidentified gunmen shot Shalash and his wife in their home in the Al Ameriya area west of Baghdad, the Iraqi Journalists’ Syndicate (IJS) said. He became the 154th media worker killed in Iraq since the start of the war in 2003.

Shalash worked for the Rayat Al Arab newspaper. He had a 20-year career as a journalist working for the Iraqi News Agency. He left the agency in 2003, the IJS said.

The IFJ says that Iraqi journalists risk being killed by any number of groups as the security situation there slides out of control. These threats make critical or investigative reporting impossible. The daily attacks on media constitute a terrible assault on press freedom and democracy in Iraq. The IFJ is calling on the Iraqi government and the US military to protect journalists and freedom of the press in Iraq.

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

The IFJ represents more than 500,000 journalists in over 100 countries worldwide

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