Journalists Killed in 2016 - Motive Unconfirmed: Mohammed Thabet al-Obeidi
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | 31 December 2016 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Killed in 2016 - Motive Unconfirmed: Mohammed Thabet al-Obeidi, 31 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/586e043f11.html [accessed 30 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Mohammed Thabet al-Obeidi
Radio Baba Gurgur
December 6, 2016, in Kirkuk, Iraq
Unknown assailants in a car on December 6, 2016, fatally shot Mohammed Thabet Shehaza, better known as Mohamed al-Obeidi, as he left the downtown Kirkuk office of Radio Baba Gurgur, the radio station he managed in the northern Iraqi city. He was 53.
The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO), an Iraqi press freedom group, cited unnamed officials from the government's Iraqi Media Network, Radio Baba Gurgur parent organization, as saying the men were in a white Toyota Corolla, and that they sprayed al-Obeidi and his colleague, Abbas Ibrahim, with automatic weapon fire, killing al-Obeidi immediately. According to JFO, Ibrahim survived. A Kirkuk police colonel confirmed that account to Agence France-Presse.
Witnesses and family members told the local press freedom group Metro Center for Press Freedom that al-Obeidi was shot in the head and in the shoulder. Family members told the group that, to their knowledge, the journalist did not have enemies.
Ziad Ajili, the head of the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, told AFP that al-Obeidi's killing might have been politically motivated, but did not elaborate.
Police told the news website Al-Mada Press that police recovered the body, sent it to the local morgue, and that they would conduct an investigation into the murder.
Radio Baba Gurgur broadcasts in Arabic, Kurdish, and Turkmen. Al-Obeidi was survived by his wife and three children.
Motive Unconfirmed: CPJ is investigating to determine whether the death was work-related.
