Iraq: Journalist, playwright, film-maker and member of Iraqi PEN murdered

English PEN is appalled by the murder of prominent journalist, playwright, filmmaker and member of Iraqi PEN Hadi al-Mahdi, who was shot dead at his home in Baghdad on 8 September 2011. We are calling for an independent and transparent investigation into his murder, so that those responsible can be brought to justice, and for full protection to other journalists and writers who face politically motivated threats and attacks.

According to our information, Hadi al-Mahdi, aged forty-four, was shot twice in the head at his flat in Baghdad, ahead of a planned protest he was due to attend in the city’s Tahrir Square on 9 September 2011. He hosted a popular radio talk-show To Whoever Listens which was aired three times a week on the independent radio station Radio Demozy, and on which he was known for his outspoken criticism of the government. He had been receiving threats since 25 February 2011, when he was arrested after calling for peaceful anti-government protests. In the days leading up to his murder the threats escalated, and he wrote the following message on his Facebook page just hours before his killing:

I have lived the last three days in a state of terror. There are some who call me and warn me of raids and arrests of protesters. There is someone who is saying that the government will do this and that. There is someone with a fake name coming on to Facebook to threaten me.  

He is said to have stopped broadcasting his show about two months ago, reportedly out of fear for his safety. Hadi al-Mahdi spent six months in prison in the late 1980s for his play Farewell, Strange Old World, which was a re-telling of Machiavellis The Prince. He lived in exile in Europe throughout the 1990s, returning to Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. He leaves behind a wife and three children.

In August 2011, Iraq’s Parliament passed a new law on legal protections for journalists who face ongoing politically motivated threats and attacks. However, the law does not provide for their physical protection.

TAKE ACTION

Please write immediately:

- Expressing outrage at the murder of prominent journalist, playwright, filmmaker and member of Iraqi PEN Hadi al-Mahdi, who appears to have been targeted for his critical views;
- Calling for an independent and transparent investigation into his murder, so that those responsible can be brought to justice, and for the provision of full protection to journalists and writers facing ongoing politically motivated threats and attacks.

Appeals to:

Prime Minister
Nuri Kamil al-Maliki
Convention Centre (Qasr al-Ma’aridh)
Baghdad,
Iraq.
Salutation: Your Excellency

President
Jalal Talabani
Convention Centre (Qasr al-Ma’aridh)
Baghdad,
Iraq.
e-mail: questions@iraqipresidency.net
Salutation: Your Excellency

Please send a copy of your appeal to the diplomatic representative for Iraq in the UK:

Mr. Abdulmuhaimen Al-Oraibi
Embassy of Republic of Iraq
9 Holland Villas Road,
London
W14 8BP
Fax: 0207 5847 909
Email: lonemb@iraqmofamail.net

Please do let us know if you send a letter of appeal, and certainly if you should receive a response, by emailing cat@englishpen.org