Dec 27, 2016

Unidentified gunmen kidnapped "Afrah Shawqi" from her home in Baghdad last night Monday 26, JFO's representative reported,

Meanwhile Iraq's PM Haider al-Abadi ordered an investigation to be open.

Shawqi was well-known campaigned against corruption in her Social Media and columns writings that she's doing for several local newspapers and media outlets, including the Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat.

JFO's representative to the US "Bashar Mandalawi" tweeted Monday night " #BreakingNews @jfoiraq investigating the disappearance news of famous #Iraq|i female journalist @afrahqaisy #Afrah_Shawqi /her sister posted"

Bashar Mandalawi added "any formed teams to look into her abduction are such wasting of everyone's time" commenting Iraqi official MOI attempt to investigate the kidnapping case.

"Everyone knows the results of such investigations, no results, we just want the journalist to be safe and returned back ASAP” Mandalawi continued "ask why the security cameras were switched off before the raid!"

The gunmen took Shawqi from the predominantly Sunni southern Saydiya district of the capital where she lived with her family, according to Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, they were dressed in civilian clothes and arrived in three pickup trucks at the journalist's home around 10 p.m. local time on Monday night, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Before taking Afrah to an unknown location, the gunmen tied up her 16-year-old son, assaulted her brother-in-law, and stole her car, gold, money, mobile phones and computers” Ziad al-Ajili said, the Head of the JFO

Iraq is considered one of the most dangerous countries to be a journalist. Seven were killed in the country in 2016, according to Reporters Without Borders.