Died 22 July 2008 | ||
Soran mama hama shahedi qalam
Soran Mama Hama (Kurdish: سۆران مامە حەمە ; Arabic: سوران مامة حةمة ; born 1987) was a reporter for Livin magazine in Kirkuk, Kurdistan, Iraq. He was shot by unidentified gunmen and died in Kirkuk at approximately 9 p.m. on July 22, 2008 in the suburban Kirkuk neighborhood of Shorija. Hama's death remains unsolved after four years. It is believed that he was the victim of the very corrupt police and government personnel, which he had previously reported on.
Contents
Career
Hama’s last story in Livin Magazine was titled, ‘Prostitutes invade Kirkuk.' Hama said that he had the names of police brigadiers, many lieutenants, colonels, and many police and security officers involved in and covering up prostitution network.
Hama had worked at Livin for three years.
Personal
Hama was born in Kirkuk on Rashid Awa Street. In Kirkuk, he studied at primary and secondary school. When he died, he was attending the Fine Arts Institution of Kirkuk where he was senior in the Music department.
Death
The Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate (KJS) said Mama Hama had received a threatening message from an unidentified person on May 15.
Hama was shot and died in front of his home in Kirkuk.
Impact
Immediately after Hama's death, Kirkuk Police Brigadier Jamal Tahir told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that the department was investigating. He said it was a "serious situation" and would get "special attention."
As of July 21, 2011, Hama's murder remained unsolved.
Partially in response to the lack of investigation into Hama's murder, thousands of Kurdish young people and students protested for 60-straight days to "address corruption and nepotism in Kurdistan, conduct reform in the political system, stop wasting natural resources, stop using the Kurdish military and security forces to kill civilians. The people have also called on the Kurdish government to stop suppressing and imprisoning journalists and independent writers." Their protests concluded on April 18, 2011, when security forces jailed and injured them.
Reactions
Livin journalists issued a statement on July 21, 2008, holding KRG officials accountable for Hama's death. Ahmed Mira, editor-in-chief of Lvin Magazine, expressed a desire that Kurdish parties be held responsible for Hama’s death because most security and police in the region are Kurdish. Mira said, "Kurdish parties in Kirkuk should be held accountable first, because no investigation has been done yet."
Kurdish writer Mariwan Wriya Qanie’s said, "Killing this young Kirkuki was a starting point to a world where nothing is normal anymore."
Shwan Muhamad, editor-in-chief of Awene newspaper said, “A dirty hand took this young Kirkuki. Soran’s murder was the beginning of a wave which has lasted still, and no one knows about its future.
"Where’s the result of investigation committees of Kurdish authority?"
Muhamad commented that the killing could be a starting point for those who want the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to return to tyranny saying, “Those who are behind committing this act don’t understand democratic values and see returning KRG to tyranny as normal.”