Al-Iraqiya
February 25, 2005, in Mosul, Iraq
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.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 the previous 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.
Medium: Television
Job: Broadcast Reporter
Beats Covered: Politics, War
Gender: Female
Local or Foreign: Local
Freelance: No
Type of Death: Murder
Suspected Source of Fire: Political Group
Impunity: Yes
Taken Captive: Yes
Tortured: No
Threatened: Yes
Related Articles:
- Iraq: Journalists Abducted 2003-09, April 15, 2008
- Attacks on the Press 2005: Iraq, February 16, 2006
- correspondent abducted in Baghdad , October 19, 2005
- French journalist, Iraqi interpreter freed after five months in captivity , June 13, 2005
- Marked for Death, May 2, 2005
