SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraq’s supreme court sentenced a man to death by hanging for the killing of two prominent Iraqi journalists last year.
Reporter for Dijlah TV Ahmed Abdul Samad and his cameraman Safaa Ghali were found dead in a car parked near a police station on January 10, 2020.
The court in Basra said the man convicted in the killing of the two journalists confessed to his crimes, according to The Associated Press.
It provided no details about the man’s identity or affiliation with any militant or other groups.
The case is now with a higher court, which can either confirm the death penalty, hand down a lesser sentence or call for a retrial.
Mohammed Samad, brother of the slain reporter, blamed four people for the killing “but only one was brought to court”, AP said.
He also identified the convicted killer as Hamza Kadhim al-Aidani, “a police officer who had worked at the same court that sentenced him today”.
The journalists’ deaths were part of a wave of targeted killings against activists and journalists covering the protest movement that erupted in late October 2019.
Tens of thousands of protesters in Baghdad and southern provinces had taken to the streets to rally against the endemic corruption and call for reforms.
More than 600 people died as security forces used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse crowds.
Protesters have largely blamed Iran-backed militia groups for carrying out killings that specifically targeted activists and journalists.
