MESOP : PKK JOURNALIST MURDERED IN SOUTH KURDISTAN / IRAQ

SOUTH KURDISTAN (IRAQ) – Massoud Barzani orders investigation into Iraqi Kurdish journalist’s murder

HEWLÊR-Erbil,  15 August 2016 – Massoud Barzani has instructed appropriate agencies in the Kurdistan Region to conduct a “thorough investigation” into the murder of Kurdish journalist Wedat Hussein Ali, after his body was found in Duhok Governorate over the weekend.

Kurdistan Region Presidency (KRP) Spokesman Omed Sabah released a statement on Monday (August 15) saying Barzani had expressed condolences to Ali’s family in a phone call with the journalist’s father.

“It’s impossible that such crimes will disappear,” the KRP’s spokesman said, citing Barzani’s remarks in the phone call. “The perpetrators must be found and must receive a legal punishment.”Sabah added that Barzani ordered relevant institutions to search for and detain the perpetrators and bring them into justice.Ali, a reporter for the pro-Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) news outlet Roj News, was found dead on August 13 on the Duhok-Semel highway with reported signs of torture on his body. www.mesop.de