Concern for Paralympic Athlete and Coach in Iraq

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has been informed that a Paralympic athlete and a coach have been kidnapped by gunmen in Iraq during a training session on 1 November in central Baghdad, Iraq. The two men were tortured and released after two days. It is still not clear by whom and for what reason. At the moment, they are in a safe place in Jordan.

Witnesses and sports officials told news agency Agence France Presse that a gang arrived in two jeeps, went into the gym and asked for two men: Khaled Najmeddine, the team's coach, and Issam Khalaf, a Goalball player. The witnesses said that Najmeddine tried to resist the attackers and was beaten.

Both men will be part of the Iraqi delegation to compete at the FESPIC Games, to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 25 November to 1 December.

Important Notice - 2007 IPC General Assembly: Change of Date

Please be informed that, in agreement with the Korean NPC, the IPC has decided to change the previously announced dates (15 to 18 November) for the 2007 General Assembly  to the new dates of 22 to 25 November 2007. In doing so, we avoid the conflict with the WADA World Conference on Doping in Sport that will take place in Madrid, Spain, from 15 to 17 November 2007, allowing a larger representation of the Paralympic Movement in this important event.

We would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused by this change of date.

For an further question, please do not hesitate to contact Ms. Sabine Mikulas, IPC Membership Relations Manager at sabine.mikulas@paralympic.org or +49-228-2097-170 or via skype at sabine_ipc.