Iraqi Kurdistan

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Fight for justice in Kurdistan as suspect in journalist’s murder is exonerated

The family of Kawa Garmyane, a journalist shot dead in Kurdistan in December 2013, has vowed to continue the fight for justice after Mahmoud Sangawi, a military commander charged with ordering the killing, was exonerated on Sunday by a court in Kalar. The court also upheld the death penalty handed to Twana Khaleefa, who was…

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Mountain of impunity looms over Kurdistan journalists

CPJ report looks at the state of press freedom in Iraqi Kurdistan New York, April 22, 2014–A lack of law enforcement and a general climate of impunity have bred self-censorship and hampered reporting on sensitive issues such as corruption in Iraqi Kurdistan, the Committee to Protect Journalists found in a report released today.

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Mountain of impunity looms over Kurdistan journalists

Iraqi Kurdistan may seem calm compared with much of the Middle East, but the media are vulnerable whenever internal political tensions flare. Amid impunity for anti-press attacks, including murder and arson, journalists say they must self-censor on topics like religion, social inequality, and corruption associated with powerful officials. A CPJ special report by Namo Abdulla

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Mountain of impunity looms over Kurdistan journalists

CPJ to release report on the state of press freedom in Iraqi Kurdistan New York, April 15, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists will release a special report on press freedom in Iraqi Kurdistan. The report examines key attacks on journalists that have shaped the climate of impunity; the role of law enforcement and the judiciary;…

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Attacks on Iraqi journalists should be investigated

New York, May 9, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns two official attacks on journalists working in Iraqi Kurdistan, including the assault on a television news crew and the arrest of an editor whose articles alleged corruption. CPJ also calls for an investigation into a car bombing that wounded a journalist in Baghdad.

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Journalist held in Yemen; attacks in Kurdistan, West Bank

New York, April 20, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Yemeni authorities today to explain why they have held prominent journalist Ali Salah Ahmed since Tuesday without revealing his location or charging him with a crime. 

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Iraqi paper, former editor fined for defaming president

New York, March 16, 2009–The court of appeals in Iraqi Kurdistan should overturn yesterday’s decision to fine an independent newspaper and its former editor-in-chief for defaming Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today‎. The defamatory article was a translation of one written in 2008 by a U.S. scholar.

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Gunmen kill Iraqi journalist during attempted kidnapping

Editor’s note: The original text of this alert was modified to correct Ibrahim Al-Saraj’s professional affiliation. New York, May 5, 2008–Unidentified gunmen shot and killed an Iraqi journalist in Mosul on Sunday after she resisted their attempt to kidnap her. The journalist, Sarwa Abdul-Wahab, and her mother were walking back from a nearby market to…

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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…

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CPJ sends new Iraqi prime minister press freedom recommendations

Your Excellency: We are writing to express our concern about a disturbing pattern of restrictions on the press in Iraq, and to urge your new government to take swift action to ensure the ability of journalists to carry out their work without official interference.

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