Iranian journalist arrested in Najaf

Xinhuanet: An Iraqi journalist working for Iran’s state Arabic-language Al-Alam TV channel was arrested Sunday in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf for violating the local police’s order of leaving.

Mohammad Kazem was detained when he was reporting live on TV the new round of US offensive against Shiite militia in Najaf, the channel said. Xinhuanet

TEHRAN – An Iraqi journalist working for Iran’s state Arabic-language Al-Alam TV channel was arrested Sunday in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf for violating the local police’s order of leaving.

Mohammad Kazem was detained when he was reporting live on TV the new round of US offensive against Shiite militia in Najaf, the channel said.

Earlier in the day, Najaf police chief Ghaleb al-Jazairi had ordered all journalists to leave the city in two hours before a major attack was launched.

It is reported that other journalists, including Iraqis and some foreigners, had left Najaf accordingly.

Iraq’s interim government has long been dissatisfied with Iran’s Al-Alam, whose correspondents had allegedly ignored its rules or orders for several times.

It also accused Al-Alam, along with Qatar-based Al-Jazeera and Dubai-based Al-Arabiya, of sedition against the Iraqi people.

This is the second arrest concerning Iranian media in Iraq.

Last Monday, Mostafa Darban, the Baghdad bureau chief of Iran’s official IRNA news agency, was arrested in Baghdad, along with two of his Iraqi staff.