Annual Prison Census 2010 - Iraq
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | 8 December 2010 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Annual Prison Census 2010 - Iraq, 8 December 2010, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4d4977e6a.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. |
Journalists in prison as of December 1, 2010
Iraq: 1
Saad al-Aossi, Al-Shahid
Imprisoned: April 14, 2010
Al-Aossi, editor-in-chief of the critical weekly Al-Shahid, was taken from his home in Baghdad by a "mixed force of police officers and soldiers," his brother told local reporters. Local press freedom advocates and journalists said al-Aossi was being held at a facility administered by the Counter-Terrorism Force, a unit responsible for high-level security cases that reports directly to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Al-Aossi was detained six days after publishing an opinion piece that said al-Maliki was secretive in filling high-level government positions. The government would not disclose any information about al-Aossi, including his whereabouts and legal status. Al-Maliki did not respond to CPJ's inquiries.
Al-Aossi had been targeted earlier in the year. In February, police searched his newspaper's office and confiscated equipment, according to the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, a local press freedom group. The raid effectively closed Al-Shahid in the two weeks before the March parliamentary elections.
