JFO calls for government approval before detaining journalists

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO) on Saturday condemned a recent raid by a joint U.S.-Iraqi force on a journalist’s house, saying that a government approval and a judicial warrant should be obtained before any arrests are made. In a statement received by IraqiNews.com news agency, the observatory described the arrest as an “unjustifiable violation of the journalist’s freedom.” “Kareem al-Sudani, an editor working for al-Mada newspaper that is affiliated with al-Mada Institution for Culture, Media and Arts said that a combined U.S.-Iraqi force raided his house after destroying the outside door at 02:00 a.m. on Wednesday in Or neighborhood, northern Baghdad,” according to the statement. “Sudani and his family were locked in a room by the force, which messed up the furniture and searched the house from top to bottom. The force prevented Sudani from wearing decent clothes and left him in his underwear with his hands cuffed behind him,” it added. Sudani said that he was interrogated by the force’s leader, who asked him about “terrorists and criminals.” SS (P) 1