Nadir Dendoune is a French journalist who is in Iraq reporting for Le Monde Diplomatique and Courier Atlas. He is also a prisoner in Iraq.
He returned to Iraq this time on January 15th and was arrested on January 23rd. Monday news out of Iraq noted the arrest:
As we noted this morning, Nadir Dendoune, who holds dual Algerian and Australian citizenship was covering Iraq for the fabled French newspaper Le Monde's monthly magazine. His assignment was to document Iraq 10 years after the start of the Iraq War. Alsumaria explains the journalist was grabbed by authorities in Baghdad last week for the 'crime' of taking pictures. (Nouri has imposed a required permit, issued by his government, to 'report' in Iraq.) All Iraq News adds the journalist has been imprisoned for over a week now without charges.
A petition calling for his release has already gathered 13,690 signatures and a Facebook page has been created to show support for him. The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory in Iraq, Reporters Without Borders and The Committee to Protect Journalists have called for his release.
That Nadir needs to be released goes without question. Equally true is that Nouri's war on the press needs to be called out. Nadir has the world's attention. Most Iraqi journalists don't get that. Freeing Nadir is only one step. Nouri's war on the press must be called out, must be publicly condemned. It must be made clear to Nouri that the world is watching.
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Screen snaps via STOP LE CONTROLE AU FACIES.FR.