Iraq sentences suspect to 15 years over kidnapping of US journalist
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – An Iraqi court has sentenced a key suspect to 15 years in prison under the country’s anti-terrorism law in connection with the abduction of American journalist Shelly Kittleson in Baghdad earlier this year, a case the US linked to the Iran-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah armed group.
The Central Criminal Court in Baghdad on Sunday sentenced “the convict – Amir Rahim Jabbar Lazem – to fifteen years in prison” pursuant to Iraq’s Anti-Terrorism Law “for the crime of kidnapping the complainant – Shelly Renee Kittleson of American nationality – on March 31, 2026, in the al-Saadoun area” in the Iraqi capital, read a copy of the ruling obtained by Rudaw.
The court noted that the convict’s detention period from early April to late August “shall be deducted from the sentence” and further preserved Kittleson’s right to “claim compensation before the civil courts after the judgment becomes final.”
In a statement on X, Kittleson said Lazem was convicted for “being one of several armed men who took me hostage in Baghdad on March 31,” expressing gratitude to the Iraqi judiciary “for its attention to my case, as well as to all those who helped get me out alive.”
“Thank you from the very depths of my being,” she added.
Kittleson was abducted in late March in broad daylight from Saadoun Street in central Baghdad.
Reports from Iraqi security officials and surveillance footage showed four men in civilian clothes kidnapping her near the Palestine Hotel, triggering a high-speed pursuit by security forces.
An eyewitness at the scene then told Rudaw that “three people surrounded her [Kittleson] and one of them grabbed her from behind.” Mohammed Abdullah added, “she kept screaming, then the second person came closer and she was trapped between them. The driver then started the car and took her.”
Kittleson’s abduction quickly prompted international reactions, with the US State Department announcing it was working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to locate and rescue her.
Dylan Johnson, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs, confirmed the abduction, stating that “an individual with ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kata’ib Hezbollah believed to be involved in the kidnapping has been taken into custody by Iraqi authorities.”
The US embassy in Baghdad around that time censured the Iraqi government for having “not prevented terrorist attacks in or from Iraqi territory,” warning that Iran-aligned armed groups “may claim to be associated with the Iraqi government” and could “carry identification indicating they are Iraqi government employees” while carrying out attacks.