Niyaz Abdullah, Iraqi Kurdistan
CPJ is honored to present its 2022 International Press Freedom Award to Iraqi Kurdish journalist Niyaz Abdullah. Niyaz Abdullah is a prominent Iraqi Kurdish freelance journalist. She regularly contributes to media outlets in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, including Radio Nawa, the broadcaster NRT, and the news websites Westga, Zhyan News Network, Hawlati, and…
Iraqi Kurdistan university official attacks journalists covering student protest
On February 19, 2023, an official at the girls’ dormitories of Iraqi Kurdistan’s Erbil Polytechnic University attacked several journalists covering student protests and broke some of their equipment, according to news reports, videos posted on social media, and phone interviews with some of the journalists. The students were protesting the lack of water, fuel, electricity,…
Two journalists arrested over criminal complaints in Iraqi Kurdistan
Beirut, October 12, 2022 – Iraqi Kurdistan authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalists Sartip Qashqayi and Ibrahim Ali and refrain from detaining and arresting journalists because of their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Sunday, October 9, officers from the Kurdistan Special Counter-Terrorism group arrested Qashqayi, the editor-in-chief of the privately…
Kurdistan 24 reporter ‘wounded severely’ in Iran’s shelling in Iraqi Kurdistan
Beirut, September 28, 2022—Iran should immediately investigate whether journalists are being targeted by Iranian forces after a journalist in Iraqi Kurdistan was injured during Iranian strikes on the region, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Wednesday, September 28, 2022, Soran Kamaran, a correspondent for the Kurdistan 24 broadcaster owned by Kurdish Prime Minister…
Iraqi Kurdistan authorities deport Dutch journalist Fréderike Geerdink
On July 14, 2022, Iraqi Kurdistan authorities deported Dutch freelance journalist Fréderike Geerdink to her country, according to the journalist, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app and also tweeted about the incident. In a July 14 tweet, Geerdink said she was detained on her way to Kobane, a Kurdish-majority town in Syria, near the…
Journalist Ayub Ali Warty criminally charged, briefly detained in Iraqi Kurdistan
Washington, D.C., July 19, 2022 – Iraqi Kurdish authorities should immediately drop all charges against journalist Ayub Ali Warty, ensure he can work freely, and Iraqi authorities should reform the country’s laws to decriminalize defamation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Monday, July 18, police arrested Warty, a reporter for the broadcaster KNN…
Alleged PKK supporters attack Kurdistan 24 broadcast crew in Iraqi Kurdistan
On May 18, 2022, a group of unidentified alleged supporters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attacked a three-member Kurdistan 24 television crew in the Sulaymaniyah province of Iraqi Kurdistan while they were covering an investigation into the murder of the head of the PKK-affiliated Mesopotamia Workers Organization, according to a report by the broadcaster…
Anniversary of Kurdish journalist murder sends out alarming truth about silencing of dissent in Iraqi Kurdistan
Amsterdam, May 4 2022 — Kurdish authorities were likely directly involved in the 2010 kidnapping and murder of a young journalist, a newly published investigation by A Safer World for the Truth finds, and engaged after the fact in intimidation and harassment – indicative of a larger pattern of impunity and silencing of the free…
Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government files suit against broadcaster NRT for protest coverage
New York, August 24, 2020 — The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government yesterday announced a lawsuit against local broadcaster NRT in response to its coverage of recent protests in the region, according to a statement sent to CPJ via email today by Dindar Zebari, the regional government’s coordinator for international advocacy. “The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s…
Iraqi Kurdistan attorney general calls for closure of NRT broadcaster
New York, June 22, 2020 — Authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan should allow the NRT broadcaster to cover the news freely and without official harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 15, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s attorney general’s office sent a letter to the Iraqi Culture Ministry calling for the closure of NRT’s…