Iraqi Kurdish court upholds 6-year jail terms for journalists Sherwan Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari
New York, May 6, 2021 — 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 issued the following statement: “With the Erbil Court of Cassation’s decision to uphold the six-year jail sentences of…
Iraqi Kurdish authorities question Assyrian National Broadcasting manager, shutter outlet
In October 2020, a captain with the Iraqi Kurdish Asayish security forces ordered the closure of the Erbil office of Assyrian National Broadcasting (ANB), according to a statement by the Assyrian Policy Institute, a local rights group, and ANB’s Erbil office manager, William Bnyameen Adam Khlapieel, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app. ANB, a…
Iraqi Kurdish security forces arrest reporter Rebaz Hassan
New York, April 26, 2021 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Kurdish authorities in the northeastern city of Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan, to immediately release Rebaz Hassan, a reporter for the pro-Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Firat News Agency. Yesterday evening, Asayish security forces affiliated with the opposition Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) arrested…
‘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 prison sentences on anti-state charges represent a new low for press freedom in Iraqi Kurdistan. According to rights groups representatives, journalists, and an Iraqi Kurdish…
Iraqi Kurdish court sentences journalists Sherwan Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari to 6 years in jail
New York, February 16, 2021 – In response to today’s sentencing of Iraqi Kurdish freelance journalists Sherwan Amin Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari to six years each in jail, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Today’s sentencing of journalists Sherwan Amin Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari is not only unfair and disproportionate, but it…
Iraqi Kurdish security forces arrest photojournalist Qaraman Shukri
New York, February 1, 2021 – Iraqi Kurdish security forces should immediately release photojournalist Qaraman Shukri and cease harassing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 8:30 a.m. on January 27, Asayish security forces affiliated with Iraqi Kurdistan’s ruling Democratic Party of Kurdistan arrested Shukri at his home in…
Ten years after the Arab Spring, the region’s media faces grave threats. Here are the top press freedom trends
In early February 2011, Alaa Abdelfattah was in Egypt’s Tahrir Square, documenting and participating in the nascent pro-democracy uprising that would topple the government and transform the country and the region. Today, he is in prison on anti-state and false news charges, which his family believes are partly retaliatory for his work. Abdelfattah is one of…
CPJ calls on Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani to respect press freedom
The Committee to Protect Journalists writes to Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, and calls on him to condemn the recent intimidation of local news outlets and do everything in his power to ensure the press is able to carry out their work freely and safely without fear of reprisal.
Murders of journalists more than double worldwide
Retaliatory killings of journalists worldwide rose significantly in 2020 from the previous year, but deaths covering war dropped sharply. A CPJ special report by Jennifer Dunham December 22, 2020 NEW YORK The number of journalists murdered in retaliation for their work more than doubled in 2020, as criminal gangs and militant groups targeted reporters working…
Kurdish Iraqi forces arrest NRT reporter Karzan Tariq while covering protests in Sulaymaniyah
New York, December 11, 2020 — Today, security forces affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party arrested Karzan Tariq, a reporter with the local NRT broadcaster, while he was covering protests over economic issues in the northeastern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah, according to his employer and NRT General Director Awat Ali, who spoke to CPJ…