By Amnesty International. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Iraq: Authorities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq must immediately end their assault on press freedom
The authorities of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I) must end their assault on the right to freedom of expression and press freedom, including the arbitrary detention, beating and grossly unfair trials of journalists, Amnesty International said ahead of World Press Freedom Day.
The harassment, intimidation and attacks against journalists have had a chilling effect on the right to freedom of expression and press freedom in the KR-I, with many journalists forced to flee or go into hiding or give up journalism altogether while many others remain in jail.
Bissan Fakih, Amnesty International's Iraq Campaigner, said:
"The KR-I authorities boast that the Region is a 'beacon of press freedom', but that is a ludicrous claim given their crackdown on press freedom and the harassment, intimidation and prosecution of journalists, especially those who have reported on allegations of corruption and criticized authorities' handling of social issues. The authorities' assault on press freedoms has created a culture of fear engineered to stifle peaceful dissent and perpetuate impunity."
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