Four Iraqi Journalists Given Awards for Courageous

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 003192 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/PPD AND NEA/I E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO PREL IZ SUBJECT: Four Iraqi Journalists Given Awards for Courageous Reporting in Face of Threats ¶1. Summary: The leading Iraqi NGO media watchdog, the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO),held the first ever Press Courage Awards ceremony in central Baghdad on December 6, 2009. Four journalists, one of whom was badly injured in a recent assassination attempt, received awards for reporting, which variously tackled corruption and malfeasance among government officials and falsification of university degrees. The ceremony garnered widespread media coverage, and highlighted the threat to media freedom currently being felt by many Iraqi journalists. End Summary. ¶2. The Iraqi media watchdog NGO Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO) held the first-ever Press Courage Awards Ceremony December 6 to recognize the investigative reportage of four Iraqi journalists who undertook personal risk to report on sensitive topics. The ceremony, supported by Baghdad PRT and Embassy Baghdad, generated widespread media coverage and helped publicize the perception among journalists that various government elements are trying to intimidate reporters from crossing any red lines and exposing corruption. There were a total of four winners in three categories: Electronic, Print, and Broadcast. ¶3. The most famous of those being recognized was writer, activist, and TV personality Emad Al-Ebadi. Al-Ebadi, who won for his courage to criticize inept government performance, corruption, and lack of transparency in a series of articles on the electronic website "Kitabaat," was recently shot in the head and neck by unknown gunmen in Baghdad. A number of Iraqi journalists have expressed their belief that the shooting was retaliation for his scathing criticisms of the government. Ahmed Arram from Al-Hurra TV won for his reportage on suspicious real estate acquisition by GOI officials. Alaa Al-Rubaiey of Al-Baghdadia TV won for his investigative report on the production and sale of false university degrees, and Othman Al-Mukhtar, a Fallujah-based correspondent, won for his report on waste and mismanagement of funds among Anbar government officials, tribal chiefs and Sahwa leaders. ¶5. The ceremony served as encouragement to Iraqi journalists that despite the reported threats and intimidation they often face, they should still strive to produce informed, courageous reporting on issues affecting the public. This feeling of threat was reinforced when the head of the JFO, Ziad Al-Ajaili, found himself surrounded by army and security forces seeking to arrest him just minutes before the ceremony as he drove to the venue. A close embassy contact, Al-Ajaili told PD Officers that he was stopped and told by armed security that his vehicle needed to be searched under "order of the commander in chief of Iraq's armed forces." A phone call to a well-placed senior officer got Al-Ajaili released (but not his car),but at the award ceremony venue he was harassed once again, this time with the head security officer of the hotel warning him that "seven military Humvees are waiting for you outside." In the end, Al-Ajaili avoided arrest, but the incident was made known to all the media, intellectuals and a few government officials who attended. Hours later, Al-Ajaili told Emboffs that he will temporarily move from his residence "given this warning from the government to keep my mouth shut." ¶6. Comment: While small in scope, these awards were the first given to Iraqi journalists since the fall of the Saddam regime and helped highlight for the public the media's contention that they are facing increasing restrictions and intimidation. We will continue to monitor issues of press freedoms and will follow up on the Qmonitor issues of press freedoms and will follow up on the investigation into Al-Abadi's attempted assassination. Hill