Baghdad Studio of Feisty TV Station Shut Down in Dispute With Iraqi Government

Baghdadiya, a satellite channel that broadcasts out of Cairo, is best known outside Iraq for its reporter Muntader al-Zaidi, who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush at a news conference in 2008. In Iraq, the channel has earned a reputation for its feisty news programming, including a morning program that provides an open forum for citizens to criticize the government, including Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki.

On Oct. 31, the security forces arrested two of the station's employees who were accused of working with terrorists, and during a broadcast the next evening the security officials shut off the power in the Baghdad studio and ordered everyone to leave the building. The government action stems from the station's reporting during an Oct. 31 assault on Our Lady of Salvation Church, in which militants took hostages and detonated suicide vests, killing dozens inside. During the hostage episode, the attackers called Baghdadiya four or five times, identifying themselves as members of the Islamic State of Iraq, a terrorist group affiliated with Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, and demanding the release of all Qaeda members detained in Arab countries. The station announced the group's demands on the air. In so doing, "Baghdadiya breached professional standards and regulations adopted by the Communications and Media Commission," said Juma Hilfi, media adviser to the licensing commission, which ordered the arrests. Mr. Hilfi also cited an earlier show that played a prank on Iraqi actors by having security forces pretend to find bombs in their cars and question them as terrorists.

But media watchdogs, other journalists and officers of Baghdadiya said the actions were in retaliation for its programming.