Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
: غيث عبدالأحد, born 1975) is an Iraqi
journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
who began working after the U.S. invasion. Abdul-Ahad has written for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' and ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' and published photographs in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'', ''The Guardian'', ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' (London), and other media outlets. Besides reporting from his native
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
British Press Awards
The Press Awards, formerly the British Press Awards, is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism.
History
Established in 1962 by ''The People'' and '' World's Press News'', the first award ceremony for the then-named Ha ...
' Foreign Reporter of the Year and the
Orwell Prize
The Orwell Prize is a British prize for political writing. The Prize is awarded by The Orwell Foundation, an independent charity (Registered Charity No 1161563, formerly "The Orwell Prize") governed by a board of trustees. Four prizes are award ...
.
Author of the book ''A Stranger in Your Own City: Travels in the Middle East's Long War'', published on March 14, 2023, in which he describes how he, and other Iraqis, experienced life and war in Iraq before and after the invasion and occupation.
Background
Abdul-Ahad was born in
Baghdad
Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
,
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
in 1975. He studied architecture at Baghdad University and had never traveled outside Iraq prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. As a deserter from Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army, he lived underground in Baghdad for six years, having to change his residence every few months in order to avoid detection and arrest.
He began doing
street photography
Street photography is photography conducted for art or inquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within Public space, public places. It usually has the aim of capturing images at a decisive or poignant moment by caref ...
in 2001 and was determined to document conditions in Baghdad during the war. This aroused suspicion, and he was arrested three days before the end of major combat operations, though he was able to escape by bribing his guards.
Career
After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Abdul-Ahad became a freelance photographer for
Getty Images
Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (stylized as gettyimages) is a visual media company and supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video, and music for business and consumers, with a library of over 477 million assets. It targets three mark ...
and journalist, writing for the British ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' from 2004.
In October 2005, he published his book ''Unembedded: Four Independent Photojournalists on the War in Iraq'' which features his photography along with that of Kael Alford, Thorne Anderson and Rita Leistner.
In October 2010 Abdul-Ahad was imprisoned for five days by the
fighters he had gone to interview.
In late February 2011 Abdul-Ahad entered
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
to report on the Libyan civil war. He was detained on 2 March by the Libyan Army in the town of
Sabratha
Sabratha (; also ''Sabratah'', ''Siburata''), in the Zawiya DistrictAndrei Netto of ''
O Estado de S. Paulo
''O Estado de S. Paulo'' (; ), also known as ''Estadão'' (; ), is a daily newspaper published in State of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. It is the third largest newspaper in Brazil, and its format changed from broadsheet to Berliner (format), ...
'' was released on 10 March, with Netto attributing his release to the good relationship between Brazil and Libya. On 13 March
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
and others called for Abdul-Ahad to be released; he was finally released on 16 March, after the Turkish government assisted negotiations and editor
Alan Rusbridger
Alan Charles Rusbridger (born 29 December 1953) is a British journalist and editor of ''Prospect (magazine), Prospect'' magazine. He was formerly editor-in-chief of ''The Guardian'' and then principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.
Rusbridger ...
flew to Tripoli.
Abdul-Ahad's most recent work revolves around the Syrian Civil War focusing on the rebels and their stalemate between determined loyalists.
British Press Awards
The Press Awards, formerly the British Press Awards, is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism.
History
Established in 1962 by ''The People'' and '' World's Press News'', the first award ceremony for the then-named Ha ...
List of solved missing person cases
Lists of solved missing person cases include:
* List of solved missing person cases: pre-1950
* List of solved missing person cases: 1950–1999
* List of solved missing person cases: post-2000
See also
* List of kidnappings
* List of murder ...