Attacks on the Press 2007: Iran
IRAN Iran’s troubled economy weakened President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s power at home, with protests spilling into the streets and intellectuals, activists, and students expressing dissent in the media. Silencing the uproar became essential for Ahmadinejad, prompting authorities to intensify a media crackdown that had been waged by conservative forces for a decade. Iran became the world’s…
Attacks on the Press 2007: Iraq
IRAQ The war in Iraq, the deadliest conflict for journalists in recent history, kept the country at the top of the world’s most dangerous places for the press. Thirty-two journalists and 12 media support staffers were killed during the year, bringing the record toll to 174 media personnel killed in the line of duty since…
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…
KRG President Barzani opposes new press billIRAQ: KRG President Barzani opposes new press bill
New York, December 17, 2007—The president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said today that he will reject a restrictive new press bill that was approved by the regional parliament on December 11. President Masoud Barzani told a delegation from the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate (KJS) on Monday that he would not sign the bill once…
Kurdish parliament approves restrictive press bill
New York, December 13, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about a restrictive new press bill approved on Tuesday by the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG’s) parliament. The bill, which awaits approval of the KRG President Masoud Barzani before becoming law, has yet to be made public; however Tuesday’s parliamentary session was broadcast live…
In Iraqi Kurdistan, CPJ delegation highlights press freedom concerns
Arbil, Iraq, November 5, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists concluded a two-week fact-finding mission to Iraqi Kurdistan today by calling on Iraqi Kurdish leaders to investigate a spate of unsolved assaults on outspoken journalists, and by urging legislators to remove vague prohibitions from a press bill now before parliament.
In Iraq, charges dropped against detained media workers
New York, August 7, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Monday’s decision by a criminal court in Baghdad to dismiss the charge of incitement to terror against 11 current and former employees of the independent Iraqi production company Wasan Media. A source at Wasan Media familiar with the case told CPJ that the judge threw…
Iranian journalist sentenced to death in closed trial
New York, August 6, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the death sentence handed down in mid-July by a revolutionary court against Adnan Hassanpour, a journalist and former editor for the now-defunct Kurdish-Persian weekly Aso in Iran’s northwestern province of Kurdistan. Iranian Kurdish environmental activist Abdulvahed Butimar was also convicted and sentenced to death. Hassanpour…
Attacks on the Press 2006: Iraq
IRAQ For the fourth consecutive year, Iraq was the most dangerous reporting assignment in the world, exacting a frightening toll on local and foreign journalists. Thirty-two journalists and 15 media support staffers were killed during the year, bringing to 129 the number of media personnel killed in action since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.…