Slain Writer Was Investigating Graft

American freelancer Steven Vincent was focusing on politics in Basra -- the increasing influence of extremists and alleged corruption.
By Ashraf Khalil and Thomas S. Mulligan
Times Staff Writers

August 4, 2005

BAGHDAD — Journalist Steven Vincent collected facts for his stories from the streets of Basra, not from official statements. But he knew that the streets of Iraq's second-largest city were becoming increasingly unsafe for him.

"This is not the easygoing municipality of 1.5 million people I recall," he wrote in a June 9 article for National Review Online. "For one thing, I can no longer wander the streets, take a cab or dine in restaurants for fear of being spotted as a foreigner: Kidnapping, by criminal gangs or terrorists, remains a lucrative business."

Still, Vincent persisted, on a personal mission to uncover the dark political underbelly of Basra. He wrote about it, and some think it may have cost him his life.

The 49-year-old former arts writer was abducted Tuesday night from a downtown Basra street along with Nour al Khal, an Iraqi woman who was his longtime assistant and interpreter. Vincent's body was discovered before dawn, hands bound and shot five times; Khal is being treated for multiple gunshot wounds in a Basra hospital.