Judge jails editor who criticized courthouse
New York, November 5, 2008–The Iraqi Kurdistan court of appeals should act immediately to overturn a judge’s ruling on Tuesday to impose a one-month prison term against a journalist who published critical reports about the Sulaymaniyah courthouse, CPJ said today. The journalist’s lawyer said newly adopted legislation does not appear to allow such a prison…
Press freedom in the news 9/23/08
Reuters is reporting that Iraqi Kurdistan’s Parliament has passed a revised media law that protects the rights of journalists in the region and abolishes criminal defamation. CPJ travelled to the region in May to protest a much harsher version of the media law, and presented recommendations to Kurdish President Masoud Barzani. Also making news this…
CPJ, RSF, Foley Foundation urge US government to designate Shelly Kittleson hostage, mobilize all resources to secure safe, swift release
CPJ, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and the Foley Foundation sent a joint letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on April 3 urging the U.S. government to secure the immediate, safe release of American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was abducted in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on March 31. The nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations asked…
US journalist Shelly Kittleson kidnapped in Iraq
Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, April 1, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Iraqi authorities to take all necessary measures to secure the release of U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped in the capital Baghdad on Tuesday. “The abduction of Shelly Kittleson in broad daylight reflects an alarming breach of journalists’ safety in Iraq that highlights the…
Journalists detained, barred in Syria as government regains Aleppo areas
Sulaymaniyah, January 12, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern after Syrian government forces detained three journalists and imposed restrictions on independent reporting in the Aleppo neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah following the government’s recapture of the areas following clashes with Kurdish units affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces. “We are deeply troubled by…
Kurdish journalist Omed Baroshky’s imprisonment extended by 6 months
Sulaymaniyah, July 30, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is appalled that Kurdish journalist Omed Baroshky will remain in prison for an additional six months following a decision by Iraq’s Duhok misdemeanor court. CPJ reiterates its call for Baroshky’s immediate release. On June 28, 2025, Baroshky’s lawyer, Reving Yaseen, informed CPJ that the court had reactivated a previously suspended…
CPJ and global media leaders call for urgent, unrestricted access to Gaza for journalists
New York, June 12, 2025—More than 200 global leaders of news and press freedom organizations called on world leaders, governments, and international institutions on Thursday to act immediately to ensure journalists from outside Gaza are given immediate, independent access to the territory, in a letter coordinated by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters…
Media21 outlet shuttered, 4 journalists arrested in Iraq
Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, March 3, 2025—Kurdistan security forces arrested four journalists from the new digital outlet Media21 on February 28 in the eastern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah, confiscating their phones and taking them from their homes. The journalists were identified as Bashdar Bazyani, Dana Salih, Sardasht HamaSalih, and Nabaz Shekhani. Security forces closed the outlet’s office…
Haiti, Israel most likely to let journalists’ murders go unpunished, CPJ 2024 impunity index shows
An overwhelming lack of justice for murdered journalists is a major threat to press freedom. More than a decade after the United Nations declared an International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists – and more than 30 years after CPJ began documenting these killings – nearly 80% remain unsolved. A CPJ report. Two…