resisting foreign occupation
Aljazeera has aired a videotape showing a group of masked armed men belonging to a Shia Muslim resistance group holding an Iraqi police officer captive in Baghdad.
According to the captors, who belong to Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army, the captive is Brigadier Raad Muhammad Khidr - the former director of Baghdad's al-Rusafa police department.
In the videotape, the masked men read a statement calling on the Iraqi interior minister to release all al-Mahdi Army fighters arrested during recent clashes with American marines in the southern city of Najaf in return for Khidr's release.
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The spokesman told Aljazeera he survived an assassination attempt on Sunday after a TV interview with the Lebanese al-Manar Channel, during which he heavily criticised the occupation forces and the appointed Iraqi interim government.
"In the interview, I criticised the government for all the decisions it made against the people of Iraq. I said the government should dedicate its decisions for the welfare of the Iraqis not that of the US occupation forces," he said.
"And the result was the killing of my cousin Amir Aziz al-Darraji, one of the mujahidin [fighters] in the city, as he was with me in my car."
Although he laid the blame for the death at the hands of Iraq's occupation authorities, no occupation official has responded to the allegations thus far.
Aljazeera 09.Aug.04
Aljazeera has vowed to continue its Iraq coverage despite the one-month closure of its Baghdad office announced by the Iraqi interim government on Saturday.
In a statement Aljazeera expressed regret for the unjustified move, and said it was contrary to pledges made by the Iraqi Government to start a new era of free speech and openness.
Aljazeera made it clear in the statement they hold the Iraqi authorities responsible for the safety of Aljazeera staff in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq.
Aljazeera's Baghdad office staff said the decision to close the office had been expected for some time.
They said they had been facing difficulties covering the news from Baghdad and that Iraqi officials had been reacting negatively to requests submitted by the channel.
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While Iraqi Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib announced the closure at a Baghdad news conference after an order from the national security committee, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said, "We asked an independent commitee to monitor Aljazeera for the last four weeks ... to see what kind of violence they are advocating, inciting hatred and problems and racial tensions,"
"This is a decision taken by the national security committee to protect the people of Iraq, in the interests of the Iraqi people," he said.
