A vehicle belonging to Shi’ite militia fighters pulls the body of an Islamic State fighter, who was killed during clashes with Iraqi forces, in Tikrit April 1, 2015. Reuters/Stringer
Reuters: Reuters Iraq bureau chief threatened, denounced over story
(Reuters) - The Baghdad bureau chief for Reuters has left Iraq after he was threatened on Facebook and denounced by a Shi'ite paramilitary group's satellite news channel in reaction to a Reuters report last week that detailed lynching and looting in the city of Tikrit.
The threats against journalist Ned Parker began on an Iraqi Facebook page run by a group that calls itself "the Hammer" and is believed by an Iraqi security source to be linked to armed Shi'ite groups. The April 5 post and subsequent comments demanded he be expelled from Iraq. One commenter said that killing Parker was "the best way to silence him, not kick him out."
Three days later, a news show on Al-Ahd, a television station owned by Iranian-backed armed group Asaib Ahl al-Haq, broadcast a segment on Parker that included a photo of him. The segment accused the reporter and Reuters of denigrating Iraq and its government-backed forces, and called on viewers to demand Parker be expelled.
Update: Journalist Leaves Iraq Under Threat for Exposing War Crimes -- ABC News
WNU Editor: Reporting on what is happening in Iraq is dangerous even in the best of times .... but now the danger is coming from our "supposed allies". The report that put Reuter's bureau chief in danger is here.
Update: U.N. says Iraq government responsible for protecting journalists -- Reuters
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