User:Crtew/Safa al-Din Abdel Hamid

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Safa al-Din Abdel Hamid
Born
Safa al-Din Abdel Hamid
Died8 September 2010
Mosul, Iraq
Other namesSafah Abdul Hameed or Safaa al-Khayat
OccupationJournalist
TitleBroadcast reporter
SpouseMarried
Children6

Safa al-Din Abdel Hamid , also spelled Safah Abdul Hameed and his name was incorrectly reported as Safaa al-Khayat, (? – 8 September 2010), was an Iraqi broadcast reporter for Al-Mosuliyah, which is a private channel in Mosul, Iraq.

According to BBC News, Hamid was the second TV journalist killed in two days as the day before TV presenter Riad al-Saray had been assassinated in Baghdad.[1][2][3][4]

Just before Hamid's murder, Reporters Without Borders announced that more journalists -- 172 journalists and an additional 58 media workers -- had been killed in the Iraq War than during World War II.[1] The majority of those journalists were native Iraqis as all but 22 were not from Iraq, according to the Arabic Press Freedom Observatory.[5]

Career[edit]

Hamid was a broadcast journalist for Al-Mosuliyah in Mosul. The private channel covered government issues dealing with the Ninawa Governorate in Northern Iraq. Hamid's show was called "Our Mosques" and he primarily documented historic religious sites around Mosul.[6] He had worked for the station for a little less than a year at the time he was murdered.[3]

Death[edit]

Safa al-Din Abdel Hamid was leaving for work when he shot outside of his home in Mosul by gunmen firing from a speeding car. The shooting occured around 8 a.m. Hamid's death followed al-Saray's assassination by a day.[7][8]

Authorities believe that just like Riad al-Saray, Hamid was targeted.[2]

Context[edit]

Two and a half months after Hamid, Mazen Mardan al-Baghdadi, who worked for the same channel, was also shot at his home on November 22, 2010. Armed men showed up to his home and asked to speak to him stating that they were military agents. Al-Baghdadi was 18 years old, according to news reports. He worked for Al-Mosuliya for the last seven months presenting two talk shows, "Sabah al-Kheir" (Good morning) and "Al-Mosul fi Isbou" (Mosul in a Week).[9]

Impact[edit]

Hamid was the second TV journalist shot within two days.

Reactions[edit]

Irina Bokova, who is the director-general of UNESCO, said: "The wave of journalist killings we have seen in recent days is cause for deep concern and must stand condemned." She said it was important to defend the rights of journalists, especially in “countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq where conflict has wrought so much damage to the social fabric of the nation."[10][11]

The International Federation of Journalists organized political groups throughout Iraq to speak out against the violence against journalists following the murder of Hamid by gunmen in Mosul and Ryad al-Saray who was shot the previous day in Baghdad. Aidan White, who is the general secretary of the IFJ, said: "Iraqi journalists are once again being targeted and killed for their work. Politicians from all sides must declare their intention to stamp out violence against media and eradicate the impunity for those who target journalists."[12]

Personal[edit]

Hamid was a married man with six children.[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b BBC News. "Second Iraq TV presenter shot, Baghdad bombs kill four." 8 September 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2011 BBC
  2. ^ a b BBC News. "Freedom of press in Iraq comes at terrible cost." September 10, 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2011 BBC
  3. ^ a b c Committee to Protect Journalists. "Safa al-Din Abdel Hamid." September 8, 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2011 CPJ
  4. ^ Committee to Protect Journalists. "Second TV anchor gunned down in two days in Iraq." September 8, 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2011 CPJ
  5. ^ Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. "Media Watchdogs Condemn Killing Of Iraqi TV Journalists." September 10, 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2011 RFE/RL
  6. ^ Roy Greenslade. "Two Iraqi journalists murdered." September 9, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010 from Lexis Nexis Database.
  7. ^ U.S. Department of State 2010. “2010 Human Rights Report: Iraq." April 8. Retrieved September 20, 2011 U.S. State Dept
  8. ^ Guyatt, David. "95 journalists murdered in 2010." Deep Politics Forum. January 13. Retrieved September 20, 2011 Deep Politics
  9. ^ Committee to Protect Journalists. "Al-Mosuliya journalist shot to death in Iraq." November 22, 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2011CPJ
  10. ^ Fakkert, Jasper. "UN Seeks Justice for Murdered Journalists." The Epoch Times. September 13, 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2010 The Epoch Times
  11. ^ UNESCO Press. "UNESCO Director-General condemns wave of journalist killings." September 11, 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2011 UNESCO
  12. ^ International Federation of Journalists. "IFJ Calls on Iraqi Politicians to Oppose Violence against Media after another Journalist is Gunned Down." September 9, 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2011IFJ
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