Iraqi Kurdistan Region authorities must stop attacks on press freedom: Amnesty International – JURIST

Amnesty International on Thursday called on authorities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I) to stop their attack on freedom of expression and the press. The call came a day before World Press Freedom Day and emphasized the need for authorities to end arbitrary detention, physical abuse and unfair trials of journalists.

In its statement, Amnesty International referred to data from the Metro Center, which works to protect the rights of journalists in the KR-I, showing that there were 37 arrests and 27 incidents of attacks or threats against journalists in 2023. Since the beginning of the year, at least 10 journalists have been detained in the region.

Trials of journalists in the region have been described as “grossly unfair”, often carried out in secret on unfounded charges and without access to adequate legal representation. There are multiple examples of forced disappearances and confessions obtained under duress. While not all have been arrested, the so-called “chilling climate” means that journalists are frequently subjected to abuse and threats. The Metro Center reported on the alleged assault by security forces of diplomatic journalist Zhilya Ali and her husband in January.

Amnesty International’s statement came ahead of a Reporters Without Borders report, published on Friday, that ranked Iraq 169th out of 180 countries, down two notches from the previous year. The World Press Freedom Indicator contextualizes the ranking in a context of extreme political polarization, an unequal distribution of media funding and the ubiquity of defamation lawsuits, and affirms that the State is “failing in its duty to protect ” to journalists.

Bissan Fakih, Amnesty International’s Iraq Campaigner, said:

No one should suffer harassment and intimidation simply for doing their journalistic work. The KRG should immediately and unconditionally release all those detained solely for their journalistic work. Authorities must defend human rights and press freedom and take credible measures to create an enabling environment where journalists can do their work safely and people can express critical opinions freely.