Iraqi Kurdish court extends journalist Omed Baroshky’s prison sentence by 1 year
New York, September 23, 2021 — In response to an Erbil court’s ruling today to extend the imprisonment of Iraqi Kurdish journalist Omed Baroshky by one year, the Committee to Protect Journalists has called on authorities drop the charges against him and end harassment of reporters. “Today’s sentencing of freelance journalist Omed Baroshky to an…
Iraqi Kurdish security forces raid office of broadcaster iPLUS amid dispute in ruling party
New York, July 14, 2021 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the raid by Iraqi Kurdish security forces of new local broadcaster iPLUS and called on Iraqi Kurdish authorities to allow iPLUS to resume its work immediately and ensure that members of the press are able to work freely and without fear of…
Iraqi Kurdish court sentences photojournalist Qaraman Shukri to 7 years in prison in secret trial
New York, June 28, 2021 — In response to the sentencing of Iraqi Kurdish photojournalist Qaraman Shukri to seven years in prison in a secret trial, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq are making an appalling habit of sentencing journalists to prison without any regard for due…
Iraqi Kurdish court sentences freelance journalist Omed Baroshky to one year in prison
New York, June 22, 2021 — In response to today’s sentencing of Iraqi Kurdish journalist Omed Baroshky to one year in prison, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “With today’s sentencing of freelance journalist Omed Baroshky, Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq have again displayed their unhindered determination to shrink the space in…
Kurdish authorities in Syria revoke Kurdistan 24 license, close offices
New York, June 21, 2021 — Authorities in north and east Syria should reverse their decision to revoke Kurdistan 24’s broadcasting license and should allow it to work freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the Media Department of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, the Kurdish-led de facto…
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…