Al Rabiaa TV headquarters stormed by protesters in Baghdad
On the night of October 4, 2022, protesters stormed the headquarters of privately owned Al Rabiaa TV in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, damaged the broadcaster’s equipment, and forced it to go off air for a day, according to statements and multiple videos by the broadcaster, news reports, the Iraqi Communications and Media Commission, and local press freedom groups. In a statement, Al Rabiaa TV said the perpetrators were “groups belonging…
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 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…
Iraqi security forces assault, detain journalists covering Baghdad protests
New York, August 31, 2022 – Iraqi authorities should stop assaulting and detaining journalists and take all necessary measures to ensure their safety while reporting on mass political protests, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Monday, August 29, Iraqi security forces arrested, assaulted, or confiscated equipment from journalists with local and international outlets…
Iraqi Kurdish authorities detain, raid, harass journalists and media outlets covering protests
Beirut, August 9, 2022 – Iraqi Kurdistan authorities should immediately cease detaining and harassing journalists and media workers and allow them to report on political unrest freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On August 5 and August 6, Asayish security forces in several locations in Iraqi Kurdistan interfered with the work…
Iraqi journalists injured by security forces while covering Baghdad protests
Beirut, August 2, 2022 — Iraqi authorities should allow journalists to cover protests freely and safely, and should ensure that security forces do not attack members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Saturday, July 30, three journalists with the privately owned Al-Mayadeen news broadcaster were injured while they covered protests…
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…
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…
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….