ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has pledged to “follow up” on the killing of a journalist in Baghdad, urging relevant authorities to apprehend the perpetrator, who has remained at large since Wednesday evening, and take legal actions against him.  

Latif Mohammed Ridha, an Iraqi journalist who worked for the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA), was shot dead during a fight in Baghdad on Wednesday afternoon following a quarrel.

"Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani is personally concerned about this incident and contacted the network [INA] through his media office director, pledging to take all legal measures against the murderer and ensure that the blood of the martyr Laith Mohammed Redha will not be wasted,” Karim Hamadi, general manager of INA said at his funeral. 

The Baghdad-Rusafa Police Command in a statement on Wednesday classified that the killing of Ridha was not an assassination, but rather the result of a quarrel with one of his neighbors, adding that they began conducting a search and investigation to apprehend the perpetrator. 

Yousif al-Saadi, a prominent from the al-Sawa'id tribe to which the slain journalist belonged, said they were committed to the law and that they would not take “any tribal actions” to avenge Ridha’s killing. 

“We are waiting for legal actions,” INA quoted Saadi as saying. 

The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights (IOHR) reported in November that "successive Iraqi governments bear the primary responsibility for failing to conduct serious investigations into the killings of journalists over the past years.”

"The government of Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani should reopen investigations into crimes targeting Iraqi journalists and ensure accountability for those involved in such crimes,” the IOHR report read. 

Since 2003, 475 journalists and media workers have been killed in Iraq, with perpetrators held accountable in only two or three cases, IOHR detailed. 

"These statistics indicate a high level of impunity, placing Iraq among the most dangerous countries for journalism."