Kurdish Press Freedom Abuses
The authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan are coming down hard on probing journalists.
Kurdish Press Freedom Abuses
The authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan are coming down hard on probing journalists.
Hemin Baba Rahim, 26, a reporter with the reputable Kurdish newspaper Hawlati (Citizen), and his wife were sound asleep when security forces raided their home in Kifri, 220 kilometres southeast of Sulaimaniyah.
Baba Rahim was arrested, dragged to a car and taken to the offices of the security services where he had to spend a sleepless night with 18 people in a small room. He was released the following day, without charge
"I was shivering. To raid people's home in the middle of the night is behaviour you’d expect from Baathists - but not from Kurdish security forces," Baba Rahim said of the recent incident.
The young journalist was arrested for allegedly organising demonstrations in protest over the authorities’ failure to provide basic municipal services - this in a region regarded as the torchbearer of democracy in the new Iraq.
In recent weeks, Kurdish cities have been racked by unrest triggered by the lack of electricity, water and petrol. The security forces have come down heavily on participants, including journalists covering the demos - according to media reports, 28 have been arrested.
Physical and legal harassment of journalists is on the increase in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Some claim to have been beaten by security forces; others have complained of their equipment being broken or seized. Many are reluctant to go public about the problems they’ve faced for fear of retaliation from the security services.
Officially, there is no censorship in Kurdistan, but the authorities seem to be broadening their definition of libel and slander to deter probing reporting. Journalists who’ve written stories on corruption and cronyism in the two governing parties, KDP and PUK, often face unspecified defamation charges.
In response to the growing pressure on the media, 35 media outlets in Kurdistan recently published a joint statement in Awene, an independent weekly based in Sulaimaniyah, demanding the government investigates press freedom violations.
Adil Ali, spokesman of the Kurdish regional government’s interior ministry in Erbil, insisted that detained journalists had been arrested under a judge’s warrant, but acknowledged that a number of members of the security forces are being questioned in connection with the mishandling of some cases.
The harassment and arrest of journalists by the Kurdish authorities reached a pitch in March in Halabja, when residents took to the street on the anniversary of the infamous 1988 poison gas attack to protest against the lack of health care and public services.
Security forces opened fire, killing a teenager and wounding dozens. They also seized tapes and film from journalists covering the event and arrested several.
Later, the authorities demanded that the journalists use their notes and pictures to help officials identify the demonstrators - a request many turned down.
Journalists fear the press freedom situation could worsen if a proposed new censorship law gets onto the statute books.
The draft legislation, ironically put forward by the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate, a professional federation, prohibits the publication of confidential military information; and writings, cartoons, advertisements and news deemed to offend religious groups and local customs.
Many journalists, especially those working for independent media outlets, accuse KJS of being a wing of the dominant Kurdish parties, the PUK and KDP, and have criticised the proposed law. The new draft of the bill was published in July, but few amendments were made.
Twana Osman, editor-in-chief of Hawlati newspaper, who said four of his reporters have faced harassment and arrest, says the KJS is no advocate of the free press, “The syndicate has a party structure. It cannot protect the safety of journalists."
Osman acknowledges that some journalists may have been out of order during the recent disturbances, but says it’s important that a new law be introduced setting out ground rules for security forces and journalists in such situations.
Wrya Hama Tahir is an IWPR trainee journalist in Sulaimaniyah.
Baba Rahim was arrested, dragged to a car and taken to the offices of the security services where he had to spend a sleepless night with 18 people in a small room. He was released the following day, without charge
"I was shivering. To raid people's home in the middle of the night is behaviour you’d expect from Baathists - but not from Kurdish security forces," Baba Rahim said of the recent incident.
The young journalist was arrested for allegedly organising demonstrations in protest over the authorities’ failure to provide basic municipal services - this in a region regarded as the torchbearer of democracy in the new Iraq.
In recent weeks, Kurdish cities have been racked by unrest triggered by the lack of electricity, water and petrol. The security forces have come down heavily on participants, including journalists covering the demos - according to media reports, 28 have been arrested.
Physical and legal harassment of journalists is on the increase in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Some claim to have been beaten by security forces; others have complained of their equipment being broken or seized. Many are reluctant to go public about the problems they’ve faced for fear of retaliation from the security services.
Officially, there is no censorship in Kurdistan, but the authorities seem to be broadening their definition of libel and slander to deter probing reporting. Journalists who’ve written stories on corruption and cronyism in the two governing parties, KDP and PUK, often face unspecified defamation charges.
In response to the growing pressure on the media, 35 media outlets in Kurdistan recently published a joint statement in Awene, an independent weekly based in Sulaimaniyah, demanding the government investigates press freedom violations.
Adil Ali, spokesman of the Kurdish regional government’s interior ministry in Erbil, insisted that detained journalists had been arrested under a judge’s warrant, but acknowledged that a number of members of the security forces are being questioned in connection with the mishandling of some cases.
The harassment and arrest of journalists by the Kurdish authorities reached a pitch in March in Halabja, when residents took to the street on the anniversary of the infamous 1988 poison gas attack to protest against the lack of health care and public services.
Security forces opened fire, killing a teenager and wounding dozens. They also seized tapes and film from journalists covering the event and arrested several.
Later, the authorities demanded that the journalists use their notes and pictures to help officials identify the demonstrators - a request many turned down.
Journalists fear the press freedom situation could worsen if a proposed new censorship law gets onto the statute books.
The draft legislation, ironically put forward by the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate, a professional federation, prohibits the publication of confidential military information; and writings, cartoons, advertisements and news deemed to offend religious groups and local customs.
Many journalists, especially those working for independent media outlets, accuse KJS of being a wing of the dominant Kurdish parties, the PUK and KDP, and have criticised the proposed law. The new draft of the bill was published in July, but few amendments were made.
Twana Osman, editor-in-chief of Hawlati newspaper, who said four of his reporters have faced harassment and arrest, says the KJS is no advocate of the free press, “The syndicate has a party structure. It cannot protect the safety of journalists."
Osman acknowledges that some journalists may have been out of order during the recent disturbances, but says it’s important that a new law be introduced setting out ground rules for security forces and journalists in such situations.
Wrya Hama Tahir is an IWPR trainee journalist in Sulaimaniyah.
