Transcript:
Around 9:00 in the morning on Ausust 13, 2016, RojNews journalist Widad Hussein was dragged out of his car at gunpoint and kidnapped by a number of gunmen in broad daylight in the middle of one of the main streets of Duhok, Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Hours later, being severely tortured, he was left for dead in the outskirts of Duhok. According to an eyewitness, he was still alive when he found him. The investigation of the murder has led to nothing as usual, and three years after the brutal murder, no suspect has been found.
KDP’s Rudaw quickly spread a lie that Widad had quit working for RojNews in an attempt to put the blame on PKK.
But here is what Widad’s brother (a KDP Peshmerga himself) had to say:
I want to expose their lie. A broadcaster like Rudaw, telling such a lie: saying that Widad had quit working for Rojnews, and that he was killed by the PKK. Shame on Rudaw!
The following are excerpts of a report by the Human Rights Committee of the Kurdistan Region Parliament, read by Soran Omar, head of the comittee:
When people gather and ask: why are you taking that youth? They reply: he has hit a child with his car and didn’t stop.
At the kidnapping location and time, some bystanders film the kidnapping of Widad.
They film the vehicles and persons who do the kidnapping.
But what is remarkable is that there were individuals in civilian clothing, identifying themselves as security, arrest all those who filmed and take their phones.
Near the place where Widad starts his journey that morning, there is a place called Zawita Gully, from there until the Malta neighborhood [the kidnapping place], there are about 200 surveillance cameras; cameras of shops, markets, streets and other public places.
According to eyewitnesses, when Widad passes Zawita Gully at 8:30 AM, which is a tourist resort, a anti-crime police unit are placed there.
Some of the shop owners told had initially Widad’s family that that police unit have wiped all the surveillance cameras once Widad passed them. But the shop owners have been threatened and don’t dare to reiterate their previous statements.
When Widad’s family are informed to go to the hospital, they go there and find him guarded by a police officer and two Asaiysh members in civilian clothing. When they arrive, he is dead.
On his body there where signs of burning, electric shocks, and other torture signs could be seen. And an iron rod had been forced into his right eye socket to come out from the other side.
All his fingers had been broken. We have all the evidence, but due their graphic nature, we can’t show them. His right arm had been squeezed by a vise and broken. The marks left by the vise were still visible.
Before his death, Widad was questioned three times by the Duhok Asaiysh. The last one was one month before his kidnapping and murder, during which they told him: “reamin working for Rojnews, but work for us [secretly]; we will provide you with money and a car and take care of you.”
Clearly he had refused the offer, and consequently they told him: your case will be closed and sent it to higher levels. Which is a serious and concrete threat on Widad’s life.
The day he was murdered, he was busy preparing a report on the passing of a full year since the expiration of KRG president’s tenure. Therefor he had an appointment with two PUK and Gorran cadres that noon at 12 PM. But unfortunately he never reached his destination.
Widad’s car was taken by police. There were numerous important things in his car. All of which, unfortunately, have disappeared, and included important evidence.
There were a laptop, and Ipad, two cellphones of Samsung Galaxy and Sony-Ericsson, with his two numbers of Zain and Korak [providers].
What is important here is that all the threats against him were inside the car. He had registered and printed all the threats, with dates, nature of threats and from whom. Nothing was left in his car.
And what is also very suspicious is that a few days after Widad’s murder, his Facebook account was deleted. Because on his laptop, Ipad and cellphones, he had saved his account password for frequent use.
Thus all the threats sent to his Facebook account are also gone.
What is unfortunate in this case, is that after more than 100 days, in this case which: the culprits were filmed; there are 200 [surveillance] cameras. Two vehicles being used for kidnapping on the main street, close to a security base, with several cameras present, driving on the wrong side of the road, without being stopped by anyone. But instead security in civilian clothing arresting those who filmed, confiscating their phones and threatening them. And none of them dares to speak now.
Instead of the culprits being found, a brother of Widad’s, who is a Peshmerga officer, is not able to go to his job due to threats against his life. A ninth grade child in their family also can’t go to school due to threats. A sister and two other of Widad’s brothers are also threatened. All the threats are registered with us.
And those who the police say were called for questioning… one of them is Widad’s own brother. Whom they’ve asked why he had called you that day. Two other of the ones questioned were the people whom he interviewed [for his work].
