Iraqi Tv Channels Closed

Two Iraqi TV channels have been shut down in the aftermath of Saddam Hussein's death sentence, accused of inciting violence among viewers.

Press freedom group The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was "concerned" by the decision to close the two Sunni-owned satellite channels.

Security forces raided al-Zawraa TV in Baghdad and Saleheddin TV in Tikrit on grounds they were inciting violence in the hours after former leader Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death, according to the CPJ.

Saleheddin TV aired live broadcasts of pro-Saddam demonstrations and held a phone-in about the death sentence.

A CPJ source said police were seeking the station's owners, Sunni businessmen Hassan Khatab and Abdelrahman Dahash, for questioning.

Al-Zawraa had received several warnings from the government to change its political coverage or face closure, said CPJ sources.

In a statement on its website, the New York-based CPJ said it was "concerned" by the interior ministry's decision to close the two channels "indefinitely".

Iraqi officials said security forces closed the stations on the grounds of undermining national stability and violating a government curfew by interviewing people on the street after the sentence.

Mishaan al-Jubouri, the Sunni legislator who owns al-Zawraa TV, said the Iraqi police raided his station in retaliation for its criticism of the verdict against Hussein.

The CPJ said the Iraqi government had a record of banning news outlets.

In a separate development, Ahmad al-Rashid, a 28-year-old correspondent for privately owned Iraqi TV channel al-Sharqiya TV, was shot and killed in north Baghdad, said the CPJ, which is investigating the circumstances behind the murder.