Iraqi journalist, cameraman shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Basra

While covering anti-government demonstrations, an Iraqi journalist and his cameraman were shot dead by unknown gunmen last week in Iraq's southern city of Basra, officials said.  The journalist, Ahmed Abdel Samad, 39 and the cameraman Safaa Ghali, 37, belonged to Iraqi cable news outlet Dijla TV. The unidentified gunmen approached their car and opened fire on them, witnesses told a Qatari news channel. Ghali was rushed to a hospital in critical condition but later died. 

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On Saturday, the US Embassy in Baghdad confirmed the “assassinations” of the journalist and cameraman in a statement. The embassy condemned the killings as "deplorable" and "cowardly." The embassy also stated that it was the Iraqi government's responsibility to uphold the right to freedom of expression as well as protect journalists and activists who should be allowed to demonstrate without fear of repercussions. The embassy also urged that the perpetrators should be found and "brought to justice." It still remains unclear who or which group carried out the killings. 

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"The ongoing assassinations, kidnappings, harassment, and intimidation of members of the press, social media activists, and pro-reform activists in Iraq by armed groups cannot continue to go unpunished," the embassy said. 

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Journalist criticized Iraqi forces on social media 

Journalist Ahmed Abdel Samad had recently criticised Iraqi security forces and Iran in his social media posts. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, he had posted a video criticising Iraqi security forces for arresting protesters in Basra but not taking action against those protesting in front of the US Embassy in Baghdad, hours before he was shot. Even before that, Samad had been critical of the government. He had once tweeted that Iran was using the daughter of General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike earlier this month, to incite vengeance. 

"Iran they are taking advantage of everything for the proxy war," Samad wrote on his twitter. 

(With Agency Inputs)

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