The Reuters Iraq bureau chief Jon Parker fled the country after death threats by a Shi’ite paramilitary group who objected to Reuters reports of lynchings and looting in Tikrit. Parker and two colleagues had written about human rights abuses and widespread looting and arson in the city attributed by local politicians to Iran-backed Shi’ite militias. (Reuters, April 11, 2015)
The three Reuters reporters had witnessed the hacking death of a suspected ISIS fighter by a group of Iraqi national police. Ali Khedery, a U.S. adviser, made a gloomy assessment of the state of affairs in Iraq, “This is only the latest in a long string of troubling tripwires that signal the rebirth of the ‘Republic of Fear’ and Iraq’s slide toward the abyss. One of the most important tenants of a police state is to silence dissent and deny access to international observers critical of the government in order to facilitate unchecked pogroms. This is all part of a concerted campaign.” (ABC News, April 13, 2015, by James Gordon Meek)