Kidnappings of journalists surged in 2004, according to research by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Most were released, but in August Italian freelance writer Enzo Baldoni became the first to be killed by kidnappers.

Here is a list of journalists who were abducted by armed groups in Iraq and held for periods ranging from several hours to a number of weeks, as documented by CPJ staff. It does not include numerous other journalists who were held briefly.

Journalists kidnapped in Iraq in 2005: 8

Marie Jeanne Ion, Prima TV
Sorin Dumitru Miscoci, Prima TV
Ovidiu Ohanesian, Romania Libera
March 28

The three Romanian journalists were abducted in Baghdad about 8:30 p.m., according to international press reports. Petre Mihai Bacanu, managing editor of Romania Libera, told The Associated Press that the journalists went missing after conducting an interview with interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. They had been on assignment in Iraq for about five days. The AP reported that the abduction took place outside the hotel in the Jadriya neighborhood of Baghdad, which is outside the fortified Green Zone.

The journalists somehow contacted Prima TV staff by phone after being seized and, during the call, were overheard pleading for their lives with their kidnappers,
according to press reports. Ion also sent a text message to Prima TV indicating that the journalists had been kidnapped. Ion and Ohanesian are reporters; Miscoci is a camera operator.

The captors, a group identfying itself as the Muadh ibn Jabal Brigade had threatened to kill the journalists if Romania did not withdraw its 800 troops from Iraq, a demand that the Romanian government rejected.

The three journalists were eventually released on May 22 along with their translator after nearly two months of captivity. The journalists arrived in Romania today.

Romanian President Traian Basescu said that his country's intelligence agents negotiated the release of the journalists and that no ransom was paid.


Raeda Wazzan, Al-Iraqiya
February 20

Wazzan, a news anchor with the Iraqi state TV channel Al-Iraqiya who was kidnapped on February 20, was found dead five days later on a roadside in Mosul, where the journalist had lived and worked, according to press reports citing her husband. She had been shot in the head repeatedly. Gunmen had also kidnapped Wazzan's 10-year-old son, but he was released days later.
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Wazzan's husband said that his wife had received several death threats with demands that she quit her job, The Associated Press reported. The station, funded by the Iraqi government, also came under mortar attack last week, injuring three technicians, according to press reports. The AP reported that al-Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attacks in Internet postings, but those claims could not be independently verified.

Wazzan became the 37th journalist killed in Iraq since March 2003.

Meutya Hafid, Metro TV
Budiyanto, Metro TV
February 15

Gunmen seized reporter Hafid, cameraman Budiyanto and their driver, Ibrahim Abdel Khader, near the city of Ramadi. The two Indonesians, from Indonesia's 24-hour news channel, Metro TV, and their Iraqi driver were en route from Amman, Jordan, to cover the observance of Ashura, one of the most important religious events for Shiites, according to station officials.

The three were freed on Feb. 21 and were reported in good health. In a telephone interview with Metro TV, the journalists said they were abducted by three men, one of them armed with an assault rifle, while they refueled their vehicle, the AP reported.

Giuliana Sgrena, Il Manifesto
February 4, 2005

Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, abducted on February 4, was released on March 4. Shortly after her release, she was wounded and an Italian intelligence agent escorting her was killed when U.S.-led coalition forces fired on their car near a military checkpoint in Baghdad.

Sgrena, a reporter for the Rome-based daily Il Manifesto, was being taken to Baghdad International Airport when the shooting occurred.

The shooting claimed the life of Italian secret service agent Nicola Calipari. In article published in Il Manifesto, Sgrena said the agent threw himself over her to protect her from fire.

According to a statement issued by the U.S. Army's Third Infantry Division, soldiers tried to warn the driver to stop before firing at the vehicle's engine block. "About 9 p.m., a patrol in western Baghdad observed the vehicle speeding towards their checkpoint and attempted to warn the driver to stop by hand-and-arm signals, flashing white lights, and firing warning shots in front of the car," the statement said.

Sgrena disputed the military's account in published comments. She said "there was no bright light, no signal" and that her car was traveling at "regular speed."

Sgrena was abducted near Baghdad University, where she had been conducting interviews. Two weeks later, kidnappers released a video showing her pleading for her life and calling on U.S. and coalition troops to leave Iraq. Uncorroborated claims of responsibility for the journalist's abduction had appeared on Islamist Web sites, but the video showed the words "Mujahedeen Without Borders" inscribed in digital red Arabic script in the backdrop.

The Italian government said it would not accede to demands to pull out its troops.

Florence Aubenas, Libération, January 5, 2005

Aubenas, a French journalist with the daily newspaper Libération, and her Iraqi translator, Hussein al-Saadi, were released by their kidnappers on June 11 after spending more than five months in captivity.

The two were abducted on or about January 5, when they were seen leaving their hotel in Baghdad. According to published reports, Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawar announced on January 13 that Aubenas and al-Saadi had been kidnapped, although Yawar did not elaborate.

In a videotape released on March 1, Aubenas was shown looking pale and tired and stated that she was in bad health, The Associated Press reported. "Please help me. ... It's urgent," Aubenas said on the tape. The journalist also pleaded for French lawmaker Didier Julia, who attempted to mediate the release of two other French journalists held hostage in Iraq last year, to help win her release.

The circumstances of the release were unclear, as was the identity of the group that held them for 157 days. French authorities did not immediately provide details about the release or the kidnappers. They have denied that a ransom was paid despite speculation in the French media.

Journalists kidnapped in Iraq in 2004: 22

John Martinkus, SBS Television
October 16
Martinkus, a journalist working for Austrialia's state-funded SBS Television, was abducted by gunmen near his Baghdad hotel. He was held for about 24 hours and released unharmed by his captors.

Paul Taggart, Freelance/World Picture News
October 10
Taggart, an American freelance photographer, was abducted by armed men in Baghdad. He had been driving to the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City. Taggart was released on October 12.

Scott Taylor, Freelance
Zeynep Tugrul, Sabah
September 7
Taylor, a Canadian freelance reporter, and Tugrul, a staff reporter for Turkey's Sabah daily, were abducted by a group calling itself Ansar al-Islam on the evening of September 7 in Tal Afar in northern Iraq. Tugrul was released on September 10, and Taylor was released on September 11.

Enzo Baldoni, Freelance
August 20
Baldoni, an Italian freelance journalist, went missing on August 20 while traveling to Najaf. In a videotape released to Al-Jazeera, a group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq claimed responsibility for Baldoni's abduction. On August 26, Al-Jazeera reported that Baldoni had been executed by his captors. The station said it received a video from the Islamic Army in Iraq that showed Baldoni after the killing. Baldoni's driver was also reportedly killed.

Christian Chesnot, Radio France-Internationale and Radio France
Georges Malbrunot, Le Figaro and Ouest France
August 20

Chesnot, a reporter with Radio France-Internationale and Radio France, and Malbrunot, a reporter with the French dailies Le Figaro and Ouest France, were abducted on August 20 while traveling to the southern city of Najaf. A group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq claimed responsibility for their abduction in videotapes aired on Al-Jazeera.

The journalists' driver, Muhammed al-Jundi, was also abducted. He was found shackled in a house run by insurgents in Fallujah in November, according to the U.S. Marines.

The two journalists were released on December 21. The kidnappers said they freed the journalists after confirming that the two were not U.S. spies. According to Al-Jazeera, the statement also said that the journalists were freed because of appeals by Islamic groups, "in appreciation of the French government's stand on the Iraq issue," and the journalists' position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.


Micah Garen, Freelance
August 13
Garen, an American freelance journalist and filmmaker, and his interpreter were abducted by gunmen on or about August 13 in Nasiriyah. Both were freed on August 22.

James Brandon, Freelance
August 12
Brandon, a British freelance reporter, was abducted by gunmen from his hotel in Basra on August 12. He was released the following day.

Jumpei Yasuda, Tokyo Shimbun
April 14
Yasuda, a journalist working for the Japanese newspaper Tokyo Shimbun was abducted by gunmen outside Baghdad on April 14. He was released on April 17.

Michal Kubal and Petr Klima, Czech Television
Vit Pohanka, Czech Radio
April 11
Reporters Kubal and Pohanka, and cameraman Klima were abducted by gunmen outside Baghdad while en route to Amman, Jordan, on April 11. All three were released April 16.

Ivan Cerieix, Capa
April 11
Cerieix, a cameraman working for the French television agency Capa, was abducted near Baghdad on April 11 and released.

Alexandre Jordanov, Capa
April 11
Jourdanov, a journalist working for the French television agency Capa, was abducted near Baghdad on April 11. He was freed on April 14.

Soichiro Koriyama, Freelance
April 8
Koriyama, a Japanese freelance journalist, was kidnapped by gunmen along with two Japanese aid workers on April 8. He was released on April 15.

Jeffrey Gettleman, The New York Times
Lynsey Addario, Freelance
April 7
Gettleman, a reporter for The New York Times, and Addario, a freelancer on assignment for The Times, were abducted by gunmen on April 7 outside Baghdad. They were released the same day.

John Burns, The New York Times
Unidentified photographer
April 6
Burns, a correspondent for The New York Times, and an unidentified photographer were abducted by militants believed to be affiliated with radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on April 6 in the city of Kufa. They were held for several hours before being released. Several support people working for The New York Times—drivers, security guards, and an interpreter—were also detained and released.

Stephen Farrell, The Times of London
Orly Halpern, Freelance
April 6
Farrell, a reporter for The Times of London, and Halpern, an American freelancer, were abducted by gunmen near the Iraqi city of Fallujah on April 6. They were released the same day.