Iraqi Kurdistan

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Journalist Islam Kashani was recently arrested in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Journalist Islam Kashani arrested in Iraqi Kurdistan

Beirut, August 25, 2023 – Iraqi Kurdish authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Islam Kashani, disclose the reasons for his arrest and the raid on his home, and ensure the press can work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Thursday, August 24, Asayish intelligence agents arrested Kashani, a host on the…

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Journalist Omed Baroshky arrested in Iraqi Kurdistan

Beirut, July 21, 2023 – Iraqi Kurdish authorities should immediately disclose the whereabouts of journalist Omed Baroshky and ensure journalists are not arrested for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On the evening of Thursday, July 20, Asayish security forces raided Baroshky’s home in the northwest city of Duhok and arrested him,…

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Sherwan Sherwani

Imprisoned journalist Sherwan Sherwani given additional 4-year sentence in Iraqi Kurdistan

Beirut, July 20, 2023—Iraqi Kurdish authorities should release journalist Sherwan Sherwani at once, drop all charges against him, and allow members of the press to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Thursday, July 20, the Erbil criminal court sentenced Sherwani to an additional four years in prison over a complaint by…

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Kareem Kaifi

Iraqi Kurdish Asayish forces detain NRT reporter Kareem Kaifi overnight

On September 5, 2022, Iraqi Kurdistan Asayish forces arrested NRT broadcast reporter Kareem Kaifi while he tried to cover a drone attack in Erbil governate’s Soran district, according to a report by the broadcaster and the journalist, who spoke with CPJ in a phone interview. Earlier that day, a drone attack targeted a group of…

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Iraqi Kurdish authorities arrest NRT TV crew in Sulaymaniyah

Washington, D.C., August 1, 2022 – Iraqi Kurdish authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalists Karzan Tariq and Chenar Ahmed and cease harassing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On the morning of Monday, August 1, members of the Asayish intelligence agency detained Tariq, a reporter for the local broadcaster…

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Fréderike Geerdink

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…

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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…

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Asayish agent

Iraqi Kurdish security forces prevent media outlets from covering drone strike in Erbil, detain journalist

On June 8, 2022, Iraqi Kurdish Asayish forces obstructed several crews from various media outlets and detained a journalist to prevent them from covering an explosive-laden drone strike that hit a road in the northeastern area of the city of Erbil, according to the broadcasters’ reports and journalists, who spoke with CPJ in phone interviews….

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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…

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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…

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