Iraqi president launches lawsuit against Kurdish weekly
New York, January 30, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the criminal defamation lawsuit filed by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Tuesday against the editor-in-chief of the independent Kurdish weekly Hawlati for translating and publishing a report written by a U.S. scholar. Tariq Fatih, publisher of Hawlati, told CPJ the newspaper was served…
Iraq: Journalist gunned down at home
New York, December 18, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the murder over the weekend of an Iraqi journalist who reported for an online news site. In the early morning of December 15, Ali Shafeya al-Moussawi, a correspondent for the video-based news Web site Alive in Baghdad, was found shot to death in…
KRG President Barzani opposes new press billIRAQ: KRG President Barzani opposes new press bill
New York, December 17, 2007—The president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said today that he will reject a restrictive new press bill that was approved by the regional parliament on December 11. President Masoud Barzani told a delegation from the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate (KJS) on Monday that he would not sign the bill once…
Kurdish parliament approves restrictive press bill
New York, December 13, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about a restrictive new press bill approved on Tuesday by the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG’s) parliament. The bill, which awaits approval of the KRG President Masoud Barzani before becoming law, has yet to be made public; however Tuesday’s parliamentary session was broadcast live…
Reuters photographer, driver killed in Baghdad
New York, July 12, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists mourns the deaths today of a Reuters photographer and driver, who were killed in eastern Baghdad during what witnesses described as a U.S. helicopter attack. Photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and driver and camera assistant Saeed Chmagh, 40, were killed by a U.S. strike that claimed the…
Secret hearing for AP photographer in Iraq
New York, December 10, 2007—The Committee Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that the criminal hearing for an Associated Press photographer accused of collaborating with Iraqi insurgents is being held in secret. On Sunday, an Iraqi court convened the first hearing in the case of AP photographer Bilal Hussein, who has been held by the U.S.…