On January 10, 2020, in Basra, Iraq masked, armed men assassinated journalist Ahmed Abdul Samad and camera-operator Safaa Ghali from Dijlah TV channel. Samad died immediately with a fatal shot to the head. The assassination occurred after the journalists’ coverage of the massive demonstrations in Basra, including a sit-in in front of the Police Headquarters after the arrest of a number of protestors. According to the brother of Samad, the perpetrator of both crimes is Kata’ib Hezbollah. 

Hours before his assassination, Samad published a video clip in which he criticized the crackdown on protesters and promised more protests, “We will continue to ask for a country with an independent Prime Minister and early elections, and to hold the corrupted ones accountable. Protests are coming.”