VZCZCXYZ0006
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGB #3192 3471445
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131445Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 5702

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 003192 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/PPD AND NEA/I 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO PREL IZ
SUBJECT:  Four Iraqi Journalists Given Awards for Courageous 
Reporting in Face of Threats 
 
¶1. Summary: The leading Iraqi NGO media watchdog, the Journalistic 
Freedoms Observatory (JFO), held the first ever Press Courage Awards 
ceremony in central Baghdad on December 6, 2009.  Four journalists, 
one of whom was badly injured in a recent assassination attempt, 
received awards for reporting, which variously tackled corruption 
and malfeasance among government officials and falsification of 
university degrees.  The ceremony garnered widespread media 
coverage, and highlighted the threat to media freedom currently 
being felt by many Iraqi journalists.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. The Iraqi media watchdog NGO Journalistic Freedoms Observatory 
(JFO) held the first-ever Press Courage Awards Ceremony December 6 
to recognize the investigative reportage of four Iraqi journalists 
who undertook personal risk to report on sensitive topics.  The 
ceremony, supported by Baghdad PRT and Embassy Baghdad, generated 
widespread media coverage and helped publicize the perception among 
journalists that various government elements are trying to 
intimidate reporters from crossing any red lines and exposing 
corruption.  There were a total of four winners in three categories: 
Electronic, Print, and Broadcast. 
 
¶3. The most famous of those being recognized was writer, activist, 
and TV personality Emad Al-Ebadi.  Al-Ebadi, who won for his courage 
to criticize inept government performance, corruption, and lack of 
transparency in a series of articles on the electronic website 
"Kitabaat," was recently shot in the head and neck by unknown gunmen 
in Baghdad.  A number of Iraqi journalists have expressed their 
belief that the shooting was retaliation for his scathing criticisms 
of the government.  Ahmed Arram from Al-Hurra TV won for his 
reportage on suspicious real estate acquisition by GOI officials. 
Alaa Al-Rubaiey of Al-Baghdadia TV won for his investigative report 
on the production and sale of false university degrees, and Othman 
Al-Mukhtar, a Fallujah-based correspondent, won for his report on 
waste and mismanagement of funds among Anbar government officials, 
tribal chiefs and Sahwa leaders. 
 
¶5. The ceremony served as encouragement to Iraqi journalists that 
despite the reported threats and intimidation they often face, they 
should still strive to produce informed, courageous reporting on 
issues affecting the public.  This feeling of threat was reinforced 
when the head of the JFO, Ziad Al-Ajaili, found himself surrounded 
by army and security forces seeking to arrest him just minutes 
before the ceremony as he drove to the venue.  A close embassy 
contact, Al-Ajaili told PD Officers that he was stopped and told by 
armed security that his vehicle needed to be searched under "order 
of the commander in chief of Iraq's armed forces."  A phone call to 
a well-placed senior officer got Al-Ajaili released (but not his 
car), but at the award ceremony venue he was harassed once again, 
this time with the head security officer of the hotel warning him 
that "seven military Humvees are waiting for you outside."  In the 
end, Al-Ajaili avoided arrest, but the incident was made known to 
all the media, intellectuals and a few government officials who 
attended.  Hours later, Al-Ajaili told Emboffs that he will 
temporarily move from his residence "given this warning from the 
government to keep my mouth shut." 
 
¶6. Comment: While small in scope, these awards were the first given 
to Iraqi journalists since the fall of the Saddam regime and helped 
highlight for the public the media's contention that they are facing 
increasing restrictions and intimidation.  We will continue to 
monitor issues of press freedoms and will follow up on the 
Qmonitor issues of press freedoms and will follow up on the 
investigation into Al-Abadi's attempted assassination. 
 
Hill