Iraq: Kurdish journalist, son and husband found dead in a car; police deem it as a case of double murder-suicide

October 17, 2019 — The Coalition For Women In Journalism is devastated to hear about the murder of former Kurdish TV anchor and journalist Lana Mohammed in Sulaimaniyah, Northeastern Iraq. We are equally saddened to find out that her three-year-old son and husband — also a journalist and NRT presenter Amanj Baban — were also found dead with her inside a car. While investigations by police have cited the incident as a double murder-suicide, we urge local authorities to conduct an in-depth inquiry into the killings and clarify what went down at the crime scene.

After their bodies were found in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, news outlets gathered eye-witness accounts who stated that unknown gunmen had opened fire on the car killing Lana, her husband and their son, and fled the scene. As seen in the photos, the exterior of the car sustained extensive damage, seemingly caused after it crashed. However, the police stated that it was a case of suicide where Lana and her son were killed by her husband, who also killed himself, as a result of an argument between the couple. They shared that the shots were fired within a close range.

Some news reports point towards the fact that Lana’s husband was very vocal as a journalist. He hosted a show for NRT called ‘Without Borders’, which dealt with sensitive subjects and social issues deemed controversial in Kurdistan; hence, increasing the notoriety of the tragic event. The reason of the deaths are being disputed by journalists, politicians and analysts. No matter what the reason may be, precious lives have been lost and our colleague Lana has been murdered with impunity. We demand nothing but justice.

Lana’s family has also referred to the killing as a case of violence against women and children. Lana’s sister announced that their family will sue local media organization following an accusation of politicizing the murders in the name of freedom of the press. The family stated that Lana was not happy with the marriage and was contemplating divorce.

It is imperative for authorities to dig deeper and find out what the actual cause of the deaths could be, as citing it a suicide clearly indicates that the state is not taking enough responsibility to uncover the layers to the case. The possibility of triple murder must not be written off and necessary actions must be taken to ensure the provision of justice.

Regardless of what the cause of death was, we demand a thorough investigation into the murder of our colleague Lana, her son and also her husband. It is critical for truth to be made public and we would not tolerate any misinformation or disinformation in this regards.

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The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world, and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

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Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org