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Iraq: HRW wants new inquiry of journalist’s death

30 October 2010 00:08 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. A human rights group on Friday denounced a regional government’s investigation of a slain Kurdish journalist in Iraq and demanded that officials open a new, independent inquiry, APA reports quoting â€œAssociated Pressâ€.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said the self-rule Kurdish government in Iraq’s north has done little to explain their September conclusion that journalist Sardasht Othman was killed by insurgents last May.
Othman was a 23-year-old freelance journalist and student whose writing was often critical or mocking of the Kurdish government. His death drew new attention to long-standing allegations of government-sanctioned abuse of media and freedom of expression in the region that borders Turkey and Iran.
Kurdish officials could not immediately be reached for comment Friday, but have denied any involvement in Othman’s death.
In a statement, Human Rights Watch’s deputy Mideast director Joe Stork said the Kurdish government’s inquiry failed to back up its findings with evidence. Stork said the government report appeared to rely on a single, unidentified suspect who confessed to handing over a blindfolded and tied-up Othman to Islamic militants.
Othman’s handcuffed and bullet-riddled body was later found in the city of Mosul, a former haven for al-Qaida in Iraq.
Stork said the confession was not enough evidence to close the inquiry â€” especially since government officials did not interview Othman’s family or friends.
"The Kurdistan government needs to get to the bottom of this killing with an open and independent inquiry that will include looking into allegations of government involvement," he said.
It’s also not clear if the suspect who confessed will face charges in Othman’s killing, Stork said.