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Attacks on Iraqi Media Call Press Freedom Into Question

Following attacks on the offices of three different Iraqi newspapers on April 1, press freedom in Iraq is once again called into question, writes Mushreq Abbas.
Iraqi journalists inspect the equipment after attack by an armed group at the newspaper's headquarters of Addustour newspaper in Baghdad April 2, 2013. Employees of Iraq's Addustour newspaper on Tuesday  inspected the damage caused by an armed group attack at the newspaper's headquarters the day before. The armed group broke into the newspaper building in Karrada district in central Baghdad on Monday, beating guards and journalists and burning editions of the newspaper, said an eyewitness.REUTERS/Thaier al-
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Earlier this month, the Iraqi media experienced two consecutive shocks that not only revealed how vulnerable the security situation is in a city like Baghdad, but also shed light on the plight of Iraqi journalists, who have been treading through a minefield for ten years.

At first, many thought that it was big April Fool’s joke. Journalists repeated reports on Facebook and Twitter that an armed group had stormed the newspapers’ offices and attacked journalists with various types of weapons.

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