Al-Shoumari, a correspondent for the Egypt-based satellite channel Al-Baghdadia, was found shot in Baghdad's southern district of Doura on April 4 by Iraqi police and taken to Yarmouk hospital morgue, his father told CPJ. Al-Shoumari, also know as al-Hadithi (the name of his family's hometown), was abducted on April 3.
Al-Shoumari was alone when he was seized, and his killers were not identified, sources told CPJ. Abdelhamid al-Sa'eh, director of news at the channel, said he suspected that al-Shoumari, a Sunni Muslim, was kidnapped by elements within the Shiite-dominated Iraqi police, but could not provide details.
Al-Shoumari had worked for Al-Baghdadia for approximately seven months. According to the Los Angeles Times, al-Shoumari regularly confronted Iraqi police about suspicions that they were committing extrajudicial killings. The channel's Baghdad director, Muhammad Fitian, and al-Shoumari's father both told CPJ they were not aware of confrontations with the police.
A colleague at Al-Baghdadia said al-Shoumari regularly interviewed authorities about human rights violations and the daily suffering of the Iraqi people. Al-Shoumai did on-camera reporting and anchored a news program.
Al-Baghdadia was critical of the Iraqi government and the U.S. military presence in Iraq, according to The Associated Press. Baghdad's southern district of Doura was a hotbed of violence, and dead bodies were frequently discovered in the neighborhood.