Iraq

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Iraqis shout slogans as security forces form a human barrier during ongoing protests in the southern city of Basra on August 5, 2018. Between July 14 and September 6, 2018, at least seven Iraqi journalists were assaulted or detained while covering protests, and the offices of two local media outlets were set on fire. (AFP/Haidar Mohammed Ali)

Iraqi authorities shut down internet, detain and assault journalists amid protests

Between July 14 and September 6, 2018, at least seven Iraqi journalists were assaulted or detained while covering protests over government corruption and the lack of basic services in several cities across Iraq, and the offices of two local media outlets were set on fire, according to news reports, the journalists’ employers, the local press…

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A general view of Halabja Museum, near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq on March 16, 2018. Iraqi authorities on May 29 issued an arrest warrant for Hossam al-Kaabi, an Iraqi correspondent for the Sulaymaniyah-based independent broadcaster NRT Arabic, according to reports. (Reuters/Ako Rasheed)

Iraqi security forces harass local reporter

Beirut, June 1, 2018–Iraqi authorities should stop harassing Hossam al-Kaabi, an Iraqi correspondent for the Sulaymaniyah-based independent broadcaster NRT Arabic, and allow him to work without fear of government retaliation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Demonstrators gather outside the Kurdistan Parliament building in Erbil, Iraq, on October 29, 2017. (Reuters/Azad Lashkari)

CPJ Safety Advisory: Security in Iraqi Kurdistan (KRG)

At least 15 journalists were assaulted and seven detained while covering widespread protests across Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq between March 25 and March 27, according to CPJ research and local press freedom and human rights groups. The wave of detentions and assaults has sparked fear among local journalists and press freedom groups that Kurdish authorities will…

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A Syrian Kurd waves the Kurdish flag in Erbil in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. Kurdish security forces have attacked and detained journalists covering protests against austerity measures taken by the Kurdistan Regional Government, according to news reports. (AFP/Safin Hamed)

TV crews assaulted, detained covering protests in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq

Beirut, March 26, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Kurdistan Regional Government to investigate immediately attacks against local journalists covering regional protests.

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Iraqi Air Force planes fly past during Iraqi Army Day anniversary celebrations in Baghdad, Iraq on January 6, 2018. Men who identified themselves as Iraqi security forces arrested a journalist on the outskirts of Baghdad on February 2, according to reports. (Reuters/Thaier Al-Sudani)

Iraqi authorities arrest Samir Obeid at Baghdad checkpoint

Beirut, February 6, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the arrest of Iraqi freelance journalist and political commentator Samir Obeid and called on Iraqi authorities to release him immediately.

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Iraq, Syria deadliest countries for journalists

Murders of Mexican journalists at highest number recorded New York, December 21, 2016–At least 42 journalists were killed in the course of their work in 2017, the Committee to Protect Journalists found in its annual analysis. While the overall number eased for a second consecutive year from record highs earlier this decade, at least six…

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Members of the Popular Mobilisation Units pose with the Iraqi flag in Tal Afar. Authorities in Iraq and Syria who relied on militias to help fight Islamic State must now decide what to do with the groups. (AFP/Ahmad al-Rubaye)

Islamic State recedes but threats to journalists in Iraq and Syria remain

After three years of fighting in Iraq and Syria, the militant group Islamic State has been forced out of large swathes of territory. But local journalists and press freedom groups with whom CPJ spoke said that the defeat of Islamic State doesn’t necessarily mean that journalists will be any safer.

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In this Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017 photo, a man walks past a campaign poster printed on a Kurdish flag urging people to vote yes in the poll on independence from Iraq, Irbil, Iraq. The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned theclosure of an independent television broadcaster by the Kurdish authorities in northernIraq, and attacks on journalists covering anti-austerity protests held yesterday in thesame region.(AP/Balint Szlanko)

Broadcaster NRT closed, KNN journalists assaulted amid protests in Iraqi Kurdistan

Beirut, December 20, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the closure of an independent television broadcaster by the Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq, and attacks on journalists covering anti-austerity protests held yesterday in the same region.

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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.

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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.

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