WAN-IFRA and the World Editors Forum have condemned the murder of journalist Sardasht Osman in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Mr Osman's body was found in Mosul on the morning of 6 May, two days after being kidnapped by armed men outside Salahadin University in the nearby city of Erbil.

Mr Osman had recently written an article for Ashtiname newspaper about a senior member of the Kurdistan regional government and had reported receiving a number of threatening phone calls telling him to stop criticising the government and its officials.

Mr Osman is the second journalist in two years to be murdered in Iraqi Kurdistan. In July 2008, Soran Mama Hama, a reporter with the Sulaymaniyah-based Livin magazine, was shot outside his home in Kirkuk after writing articles critical of local politicians and security officials. His killers are yet to be found.

In a letter to Massoud Barzani, President of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, WAN-IFRA called for a thorough investigation into Mr Osman's murder and urged him to do "everything possible to ensure the safety of journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan."

Read the full letter here.