Netherlands supports UNESCO Iraq to enhance the safety of journalists The Netherlands Ambassador Michel Rentenaar and the director of UNESCO Iraq Office, Paolo Fontani, have signed the project agreement of the phase two of "Breaking the Silence: Enhance Accountability and Prosecution for Safety of Journalists and Fighting Impunity". The funding will help among others to […]
In response to the reported arrest of Al-Ahd TV reporter Hamid Majed, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued the following statement: Iraqi authorities must immediately release Al-Ahd TV reporter Hamid Majed and allow journalists to work freely and without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 1, Colonel Tareq […]
In response to the sentencing of Iraqi Kurdish photojournalist Qaraman Shukri to seven years in prison in a secret trial, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued the following statement: "Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq are making an appalling habit of sentencing journalists to prison without any regard for due process and for the rights […]
By Amnesty International. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearance of activists and journalists Over the past year the authorities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I) have ruthlessly cracked down on journalists, activists […]
Iraqi Kurdistan's Authoritarian Turn: Western ally 'Discards idea of Democracy' Writing in the Financial Times, Chloe Cornish says the arrest and conviction of journalists and activists In Iraqi Kurdistan has revived concerns over a government dominated by two clans, the Barzanis and the Talabanis. Click here to read the full article (subscription required)
In response to the Erbil Court of Cassation's recent decision to uphold the six-year jail sentences of Iraqi Kurdish journalists Sherwan Amin Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued the following statement: "With the Erbil Court of Cassation's decision to uphold the six-year jail sentences of journalists Sherwan Amin Sherwani and […]
A court in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq sentenced three journalists and two activists to six years in prison on February 16, 2021, in deeply flawed proceedings, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday. The authorities continue to hold two other people despite a court ruling that there was insufficient evidence to try them. Human Rights […]
By John Lee. Iraq has fallen in the World Press Freedom Index for 2021, ranking 163rd out of 180 countries, down one place on last year. The result puts Iraq behind countries such as Turkey and Sudan, but ahead of Iran and Syria. First place went to Norway, with Eritrea coming last. Reporters Without Borders […]
UNESCO Iraq trains female police officers to respond to the dangers and threats facing Iraqi women journalists Within the multi-donor program MDP grant, UNESCO Iraq Office, CI, organized a three-day training course targeting 18 police officers from the Crimes Against Journalists Investigation Unit. This session comes as part of UNESCO's efforts to strengthen the national […]
From the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ): 'Spaghetti against the wall': how flimsy evidence sent 2 Iraqi Kurdish journalists to jail for 6 years The case against Iraqi Kurdish journalists Sherwan Amin Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari was built on flimsy and circumstantial evidence, five observers of the journalists' Erbil trial last month told CPJ. Their six-year […]
In response to [Tuesday's] sentencing of Iraqi Kurdish freelance journalists Sherwan Amin Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari to six years each in jail, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has issued the following statement: "Today's sentencing of journalists Sherwan Amin Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari is not only unfair and disproportionate, but it also proves that the […]
Wave of arrests of journalists covering protests in Iraqi Kurdistan Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns a wave of press freedom violations in northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region, where at least 10 journalists have been arrested while covering peaceful protests during the past week, one has been placed in pre-trial detention and a regional TV channel, […]
