Journalists come under US fire near Baghdad Green Zone

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) wrote a letter on 14 October 2005 to Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., Commanding General of the Multinational Force in Iraq about journalists exposed to fire in Iraq while doing work without having to be embedded. The letter said:

The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by recent incidents in which

journalists have come under fire from US and Iraqi forces at checkpoints

near the International Zone in Baghdad.

Around 9:30 a.m. on October 3, Wall Street Journal reporter Farnaz Fassihi

and her driver came under fire from US troops at Checkpoint 3, the only

access to the International Zone for media. The driver was attempting to

pick up Fassihi. A US soldier in a Humvee fired a warning shot above the

car as Fassihi was about to cross the street to get in it, she told CPJ. As

she and the driver left they were stopped by Iraqi and American soldiers who

shouted that they would shoot the two of them if they again slowed down or

stopped near the checkpoint. Fassihi said there were no signs or indications

that cars were forbidden from stopping in the area.

At 11:00 a.m. that morning, National Public Radio senior producer J.J.

Sutherland and his driver came under fire at the same location. Sutherland's

driver was dropping him off about 100 meters from the checkpoint when they

were fired upon. "Immediately the Iraqi guards began yelling and shooting

warning shots over my head, close enough that I could hear the snap of the

bullets as they passed by," he said. Sutherland noted that he "did not see

the American forces present doing anything to try to prevent what could

easily have turned out to be a tragic incident." Like Fassihi he observed an

absence of any indication that vehicles were barred from stopping at the

location.

Journalists have told CPJ of several similar incidents involving members of

the media that have occurred in recent weeks at US checkpoints near the

International Zone.

Journalists in Baghdad are expected to report from the International Zone

where they attend press conferences, interview US and Iraqi officials, and

join military units for assignments as "embedded" journalists. It is

essential that they are able to report the news there and elsewhere in Iraq

without having their lives placed in danger by the US and Iraqi military.

We believe these recent incidents highlight the ongoing threat that

checkpoints pose to all civilians in Iraq, including members of the press.

Earlier this year, CPJ and Human Rights Watch wrote jointly to Secretary of

Defense Donald Rumsfeld describing incidents in which flawed checkpoint

procedures have endangered the lives of civilians. The letter also discussed

the US military's own investigation into the March 4 checkpoint shooting

that killed Italian intelligence officer Nicola Calipari and wounded

journalist Giuliana Sgrena. It included recommendations for improving the

safety of civilians approaching checkpoints, including the use of signs and

other warnings. The recent checkpoint shootings indicate that these

recommendations have not been implemented.

Last month, US Senator John Warner, chairman of the Senate Armed Services

Committee, urged you and Secretary Rumsfeld to address concerns about the

safety of journalists in Iraq. Senator Warner's request came after he had

received copies of letters that CPJ wrote to the Secretary, including our

joint letter with Human Rights Watch about checkpoint safety. During that

meeting you told the committee that you would follow up the request and

"work through some of their concerns" with journalists in Baghdad, adding

that "It's an issue that we take very seriously."

Immediately following the Senate testimony we requested a meeting with

Secretary Rumsfeld. In the meantime, we call on you to take steps now to

ensure that these incidents are thoroughly investigated and that the lives

of journalists and other civilians are not endangered, the letter concluded.