Iraq / Middle East & North Africa

  
An Iraqi flag on August 30, 2017. Al-Anbar authorities on November 17, 2017, ordered a television station to close its regional offices on the grounds that they violated Iraqi licensing agreements. (AP/Sam McNeil)

Iraq’s Al-Anbar Governor orders TV station to close

Beirut, December 18, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Iraqi regional authorities to reverse their decision to close the independent TV satellite channel Al-Sharqiya’s Al-Anbar offices, and allow the channel to operate freely in the area.

Read More ›

Journalists and protesters hold placards outside an Istanbul court on October 31, 2017, calling for the release of jailed colleagues, including Turkish reporter Ahmet Şık. Turkey is the worst jailer of journalists in 2017. (AP/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Record number of journalists jailed as Turkey, China, Egypt pay scant price for repression

For the second year in a row, the number of journalists imprisoned for their work hit a historical high, as the U.S. and other Western powers failed to pressure the world’s worst jailers–Turkey, China, and Egypt–into improving the bleak climate for press freedom. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

Read More ›

The city of Baghdad is seen out the door during a helicopter on October 23, 2017. Iraqi armed forces arrested freelance journalist and political commentator Samir Obeid a day after Obeid published an article that was critical of the country's prime minister. (Reuters/Pool/Alex Brandon)

CPJ calls on Iraqi authorities to release journalist Samir Obeid

Beirut, November 9, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Iraqi authorities to release freelance journalist and political commentator Samir Obeid immediately.

Read More ›

A vigil in Sliema, Malta, for Daphne Caruana Galizia, a critical blogger killed in a car bombing in October 2017. (AFP/Matthew Mirabelli)

Getting Away with Murder

CPJ’s 2017 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and the killers go free

Read More ›

A Kurdish flag is waved during a rally in support of the Iraqi Kurdish leader in Erbil on October 30, 2017. Amid unrest in the region, Kurdish news outlets are attacked and harassed. (AFP/Safin Hamed)

Kurdish journalist killed, others attacked amid post referendum tensions

New York, October 30, 2017– CPJ today condemned attacks against the Kurdish media in Iraq and called on all parties to refrain from targeting the press as political and military tensions escalate over a Kurdish independence bid. In recent days, attackers stabbed to death a journalist, a mob attacked two TV crews, and Iraq’s media…

Read More ›

Passengers file through Erbil international airport Friday, September 29, 2017 ahead of a flight ban threatened by the central Iraqi government in retaliation for a Kurdish independence referendum. A journalist who reported critically on the referendum was ordered to leave Kirkuk province. (AP/Susannah George)

Kurdish military forces expel Al-Ahad TV reporter from Kirkuk province

Beirut, October 2, 2017–Kurdish regional authorities in northern Iraq should immediately allow Al-Ahad TV correspondent Saif Rida to safely return to Kirkuk province and resume his work as a journalist, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Read More ›

NRT office in Iraqi Kurdistan attacked

New York, August 31, 2017–The Kurdistan Regional Government should immediately investigate today’s attack on independent broadcaster NRT in Dohuk, northern Iraq, and swiftly bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

Read More ›

The Kurdistan flag at the castle of Erbil, Iraq on July 29, 2017. Kurdish authorities blocked the independent media outlet Nalia Radio and Television from broadcasting ahead of a regional referendum on Kurdish independence next month. (Reuters/Khalid Al-Mousily)

Kurdish authorities temporarily block regional broadcaster

Beirut, August 30, 2017–The Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq should allow the independent media outlet Nalia Radio and Television (NRT) to resume broadcasting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Read More ›

Photographers take cover during clashes between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants in Mosul in May 2017. Journalists covering the fighting are advised to take safety precautions. (Reuters/Danish Siddiqui)

CPJ Safety Advisory: Shifting security situation in Iraq

Threats to journalists in Iraq have changed after government forces regained control over the city of Mosul and significantly reduced the territory controlled by the militant group Islamic State. CPJ’s Emergencies Response Team (ERT) has issued the following advisory for journalists who plan to continue working in Iraq.

Read More ›

A screen shot of Ahmed al-Basheer's program shows him reacting to legal threats from Iraqi regulators.

Iraqi regulator threatens TV satirist with legal action

New York, August 14, 2017–Iraqi authorities should stop threatening the pro-Kurdish broadcaster NRT and political satirist Ahmed al-Basheer, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In a letter NRT received August 10, the Iraqi Communications and Media Commission inquired whether the broadcaster’s Arabic-language channel would continue airing al-Basheer’s program and threatened to pursue “legal action”…

Read More ›