Baghdad, Jun 18, (VOI) - A journalist organization on Tuesday said a number of journalists working for local and Arab TV channels were “beaten and insulted” while covering an event in Baghdad.“About 15 journalists and TV cameramen were beaten and insulted by an army forces stationing at al-Karkh hospital, western Baghdad,” said a Journalistic Freedom Observatory (JFO) statement received by Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).
The announcement noted “the journalist were accompanying the chief of Baghdad provincial council Mueen al-Kadhimi while he was visiting the hospital to see the people injured in al-Hurriya car bombing.”
“A row took place between the bodyguards of Baghdad provincial council chief and the hospital's protection army forces, followed by the army forces' rough treatment of the journalists,” JFO statement cited Ali Rasheed, cameramen for al-Furat channel, as saying.
Rasheed added “one of the soldiers tried to grab my camera pretending I was filming the row, then, one of the soldiers hit me, forcing me to kneel and causing my camera to fall along with being insulted.”
“The military force did not provide reasons or motivations for detaining the journalists inside the hospital,” the JFO quoted Hussam al-Hajj, a reporter for al-Hurra TV channel.
Al-Hajj added “reporters and corespondents from al-Hurra, al-Furat, al-Iraqiya, and al-Salam channels ran away en mass from the hospital”.
The JFO called for an end to “blatant violations of journalistic freedom and the ongoing aggression infringing journalists in the country.”
The organization called on security officials and the commander of Baghdad security plan “to cease all aggressions and to abide by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s instructions emphasizing the punitive measures against whoever was proved to have infringed on journalists' rights.”
JFO is a Baghdad-based NGO advocating JournalistsÂ’ rights. It works in cooperation with the global Journalists Without Borders organization.