A journalist was kidnapped, tortured and killed in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Iraqi security forces stated on Thursday. Zardasht Osman, who had been kidnapped two days earlier, was found on a highway. He had been shot two times in the head.
The 23-year-old was a university student who freelanced for a number of online publications. He had recently written an article referencing a female member of the family of the region’s president, Massoud Barzani, which many surmise may have led to his death.
His family and friends told members of the media that they were convinced Osman had been murdered because of his work, and alleged that the security forces of the region, which are controlled by Mr. Barzani’s son, Masrur Barzani, were directly implicated in the killing.
Although Osman is only the second journalist to be killed in Iraqi Kurdistan in three years, there have been growing concerns about threats to press freedom in this relatively more stable part of Iraq.