New York, August 26, 2004—Iraqi police, some masked and
firing weapons, threatened and detained dozens of journalists Wednesday
night at a hotel in the southern city of Najaf, where U.S. forces have
battled with Shiite insurgents for several weeks. The Committee to Protect
Journalists is outraged by this "thuggery," Executive Director Ann Cooper
said today.
Police stormed the Bahr Najaf Hotel, which housed a large contingent of
international media, according to CPJ sources and international press
reports. The Knight Ridder news service reported that police, some wearing
ski masks, fired shots and detained some 60 journalists.
Knight Ridder quoted one of the officers shouting, "All the journalists,
out now or we'll kill you!"' as the man kicked doors and pulled reporters
out of rooms. The journalists were transported in flatbed trucks to a
local police station where they were held for an hour, Knight Ridder reported.
None were charged.
The journalists were told by Iraqi police that they had been detained
in response to a report broadcast by the Dubai-based satellite news channel
Al-Arabiyya saying that senior Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini
al-Sistani was to arrive in Najaf to lead a demonstration. Police claimed
the report caught them off guard, caused disruption in Najaf, and incited
violence, Knight Ridder reported.
Journalists from Knight Ridder, the Getty photo agency, and the BBC
were among those detained, sources told CPJ. Journalists told CPJ that
police confiscated some reporters' satellite phones and computer equipment.
It is unclear how many journalists now remain at the hotel in Najaf.
"We call on the interim government to put a stop to this thuggery," CPJ's
Cooper said. "The Iraqi government seems to take the position it has the
right to suppress any reporting it finds objectionable. These actions
belie the government's stated support for press freedom."
CPJ is also investigating reports that five Al-Arabiyya employees were
briefly detained by Iraqi police in a separate incident Wednesday after
airing a news item that U.S. missiles had landed near the Imam Ali shrine.
In an earlier incident on August 15, local Iraqi authorities in Najaf
ordered all journalists to leave the city within two hours, citing concerns
for their safety. Police subsequently visited the Bahr Najaf hotel on
two occasions and ordered journalists to leave or face arrest. That same
day in front of the Najaf governor's office, a plainclothes security officer
warned journalists to leave in two hours or they would be "shot."
And on August 7, the interim government barred Al-Jazeera from working
in Iraq for 30 days, accusing the station of incitement to violence and
hatred.
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