Baghdad advertising screens shut after pornography display
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi authorities ordered the shutdown of advertisement screens after a hacker displayed pornography on an LED screen in one of Baghdad’s main squares on Sunday, causing public uproar in a largely conservative society.
The hacker was arrested approximately nine hours after the incident which lasted for a few minutes before the screen was switched off.
Passersby in vehicles grabbed the moment on their mobile phones, leading to the incident circulating on social media. The screen is located in Uqba bin Nafia square, a major intersection in the Iraqi capital.
“We condemn the immoral act that the video was broadcast at night in Baghdad, and call on the relevant authorities to take urgent measures,” Jawad Kaabi, a civil society activist, told Rudaw on Sunday.
Most of the locals expressed concern for teenagers and children seeing the adult rated content that was displayed.
A largely conservative country, Iraqi authorities announced last year that they were planning to ban pornographic websites but many still remain accessible.
“We call on the Iraqi government to protect Iraqi society, especially teenagers, because this will have a negative impact on teenagers,” Salam Jabbar, a driver, told Rudaw’s Mustafa Goran on Sunday.
“We ask the government to ban these horrible things because children learn awful things from it,” Abbas Haidar, a local from Baghdad told Rudaw’s Goran on Sunday.
Videos showing the pornographic film as cars pass through central Baghdad have been widely shared on social media.
After the incident, the interior ministry immediately turned off all screens in Baghdad and appointed a committee to investigate the incident.
The committee announced the arrest of the suspect in a statement, identifying him as Karar Hussein. The ministry said he had confessed to the crime and attributed the reason to money issues between him and the owner of the agency in charge of the LED screens.
The hacker was arrested approximately nine hours after the incident which lasted for a few minutes before the screen was switched off.
Passersby in vehicles grabbed the moment on their mobile phones, leading to the incident circulating on social media. The screen is located in Uqba bin Nafia square, a major intersection in the Iraqi capital.
“We condemn the immoral act that the video was broadcast at night in Baghdad, and call on the relevant authorities to take urgent measures,” Jawad Kaabi, a civil society activist, told Rudaw on Sunday.
Most of the locals expressed concern for teenagers and children seeing the adult rated content that was displayed.
A largely conservative country, Iraqi authorities announced last year that they were planning to ban pornographic websites but many still remain accessible.
“We call on the Iraqi government to protect Iraqi society, especially teenagers, because this will have a negative impact on teenagers,” Salam Jabbar, a driver, told Rudaw’s Mustafa Goran on Sunday.
“We ask the government to ban these horrible things because children learn awful things from it,” Abbas Haidar, a local from Baghdad told Rudaw’s Goran on Sunday.
Videos showing the pornographic film as cars pass through central Baghdad have been widely shared on social media.
After the incident, the interior ministry immediately turned off all screens in Baghdad and appointed a committee to investigate the incident.
The committee announced the arrest of the suspect in a statement, identifying him as Karar Hussein. The ministry said he had confessed to the crime and attributed the reason to money issues between him and the owner of the agency in charge of the LED screens.