Aljazeera journalist denies terror ‘slur’
Aljazeera’s bureau chief in Baghdad, Hamid Hadid, has rejected a report in a pan-Arab daily that said he is related to an alleged al-Zarqawi associate who is supposed to have led the battle in Falluja against US forces.
The newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat, which is published from London, ran a story on 19 November saying Umar Hadid, whom it identified as an associate of the Jordanian-born fugitive Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is a brother of Hamid Hadid.
On Saturday Hamid Hadid firmly denied the connection and his brother Umar told Aljazeera that the accusations were wrong.
“I am Umar Ahmad Muhammad Hadid al-Jumaili, a brother of Hamid Ahmad Muhammad Hadid al-Jumaili, director of the Aljazeera office in Baghdad”, he said.
“The Saudi newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat (Middle East) published an article saying I am an assistant to Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. I am 24-years old now but the article says I was in Afghanistan and went to Pakistan 10 years ago. How come I did that and I was so young?
“That is not correct and void.”
Aljazeera response
Aljazeera said it regretted the fact that Al-Sharq al-Awsat published a story breaching the fundamentals of recognised professional norms that require the verification of a claim, and thereby possibly jeopardising the safety and security of a fellow journalist.
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Aljazeera questioned the motive |
Aljazeera has also questioned the motive behind the running of the story, and said it reserved the right to pursue the issue through legal channels.
An AFP report quoted Al-Sharq al-Awsat as describing Umar Hadid as a former bodyguard of Saddam Hussein and top aide to al-Zarqawi.
Quoting Iraqi intelligence sources, the report said Umar Hadid “led the [Falluja] battle and is the main aide of … al-Zarqawi”.
The Saudi-sponsored daily said he was a bodyguard of the deposed Iraqi president some 10 years ago before travelling to Pakistan and “joining al-Qaida and training in an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan”.
Hadid returned to Iraq shortly before the US-led war on Iraq in March last year, the newspaper added.