The Supreme Judicial Council announced the opening of an investigation into the assault on journalist Jamal Al-Badrani, while confirming that one of the accused in the assault had been identified.
The media center of the Supreme Judicial Council stated in a statement that since the first moments of the attack on journalist Jamal Al-Badrani, director of the Al-Sharqiya channel office in Nineveh Governorate last Tuesday, an investigation has been initiated, adding that “the National Security Directorate in Mosul has been tasked with tracking down the perpetrators and emptying the surveillance cameras to reach the accused regarding the subject of the attack.”
She explained, “After one of the accused was reached, the procedures are still ongoing by the competent investigating judge and are being directly followed up by the Supreme Judicial Council, which affirms the freedom of the press and freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution, and that the judiciary is capable of confronting any attack on any citizen or institutions of various names.”
Journalist Jamal Al-Badrani, director of the offices of Al-Sharqiya Channel and one of the founders of Mosul Time Radio in the city of Mosul (the center of Nineveh), was attacked by three people belonging to “an armed faction that is foreign to Mosul and its people.”
The attack on journalist Jamal Al-Badrani was carried out by a group affiliated with an armed faction alien to Nineveh, its people, customs and culture. This came after a journalist spoke about the interference of a political party in appointing departments in the Nineveh Governorate Education Directorate, on the basis of favoritism and affiliation, and not on the basis of competence and professionalism, by handing over the positions of department directors to two people, one of whom is a service employee, and the other a contract employee.
Meanwhile, the Journalists Syndicate condemned the attack on journalist Jamal Al-Badrani. The head of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, Mu’ayyad Al-Lami, said that he condemns the attack on Al-Badrani, while calling on the competent authorities to pursue the perpetrators of the attack and hold them accountable in accordance with the law and guarantee freedom of expression and free speech. Nineveh journalists also condemned the attack on journalist and media figure Jamal Al-Badrani, describing it as targeting freedom of opinion, expression and free speech in Mosul, while calling on the Iraqi judiciary to reveal the perpetrators of the attack.
In addition, the Nineveh Provincial Council condemned the attack on journalist Al-Badrani and called on the judicial and security authorities to take the necessary measures against the perpetrators of the attack. The Vice President of the Council, Mohammed Al-Jubouri, confirmed that the Council categorically rejects the attack on journalists and the restriction of freedom of opinion and expression in the province.
