Iraqi authorities take fake terrorist kidnap reality TV show off air

ATV show in Iraq that lured guests into simulated ambushes by militants, forcing participants and viewers to experience some of the terror that was widespread under the rule of the socalled Islamic State (IS) group, has been ordered off air by the country’s media regulator.

The show’s cancellation followed widespread outrage from viewers.

The show is a form of reality TV and follows Iraqi celebrity guests, including actresses and football players.

They are invited to what is described as a “charity event” but then fall prey under various scenarios to a staged ambush by actors playing militants.

They are later freed by other actors playing Iraqi security forces.

The show, Tannab Raslan, was being aired by the local Asia TV as a special during the holy month of Ramadan until Iraq’s Communication and Media Commission ordered it off the air.

The ambush reenactments included fake weapons and stunt explosions, while the “militants” threatened to detonate fake suicide vests.

The show’s name refers to the name of its presenter, Raslan Haddad, and a popular Iraqi game that children play with marbles in which a score is called “tannab”.

Hidden cameras filmed everything – and the fear that gripped the show’s guests was real.

The show has raised ethics concerns and provoked outrage from angry viewers who said its content was highly offensive.

“The scenes bring back memories of Daesh once again,” said Baghdad resident Bashir al-saddi, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.

“Frankly, this is not acceptable, it is inhuman and uncivilised.”

But some, like one of the show’s actors and presenter Haddad, said the cancellation was unfair as it also depicts the heroism of Iraqi security forces.

In one the most controversial episodes, cameras followed Iraqi actress Nessma Tanneb as she was taken to a rural area outside Baghdad under the pretext of meeting a family liberated from IS rule.

Along the way, she was told at a mock checkpoint that the area they were about to enter was unsafe and was under attack by IS militants just three hours earlier. Tanneb was visibly concerned and asked to turn back but was ignored.

Once she was brought inside a house, an explosion was heard, and actors playing militants stormed the building.

Tanneb – who at this point was blindfolded – cried out, screamed and eventually fainted as actors playing Iraqi soldiers burst on to the scene and “liberated” her.

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Frankly, this is not acceptable, it is inhuman and uncivilised

A PRANK TOO FAR: Raslan Haddad presented the show Tannab Raslan, which has been cancelled after widespread outrage from viewers.