Iraq

The Islamic State offensive in Iraq that began last June, shows that journalists are more unprotected than ever in the face of mounting danger.

Through the Islamic State’s repeated targeting of journalists, the group has proven to be one of the most dangerous forces for the press across the region.

Journalist Leyla Yildizhan was covering an attack on the camp by the Islamic State’s Jihadi fighters when she was fatally injured in the chest by shrapnel from an exploding mortar shell.

On the night of 27 July, Payam TV presenter Ayhan Saeed’s was severely beaten by unidentified assailants in Dohuk, in northern Iraqi Kurdistan.

The Baghdad office of the Al-Ta’khi newspaper was attacked on 14 July by masked and armed men in police cars. Journalists present were ordered to stop issuing the newspaper and to move out of Baghdad.

The guidelines demand that media avoid making information about insurgent forces public and requires them to report on government forces only in favorable terms.

The current political and security crisis in Iraq is having a major impact on society and the media, both those based in Iraq and those broadcasting from abroad.

CJFE was able to interview Kurdish journalist Goran Dukani, living in exile in the US, for his perspective on the momentum for free expression in Iraqi Kurdistan and the endemic impunity that plagues the region.

“We urge all parties to the conflict [in Iraq] to ensure that journalists are protected,” RWB said. “At the same time, news media and journalists must demonstrate their independence and professionalism by not fueling political and sectarian conflicts.”

A raid on Al-Abasiya, an Iraqi opposition TV station based in Amman, ended with the suspension of broadcasting, the arrest of all 14 employees present and the closure of the station, which is critical of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki.

Journalists, news media and freedom of information in Iraqi Kurdistan have been hit by a recent increase in the traditional tension between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey.

On 23 May, armed men in military dress ransacked the office of TV reporter and freelance photographer Hussam Al-Akuli and stabbed him several times. Akuli had received handwritten death threats prior to the attack warning him not to report on the region’s endemic corruption.

During Iraq’s 30 April parliamentary elections, the first since the withdrawal of US troops in late 2011, journalists were the victims of threats and attacks both by security forces and armed groups.

The media in Iraqi Kurdistan are vulnerable whenever internal political tensions flare. Amid impunity for anti-press attacks, including murder and arson, journalists say they must self-censor on topics like religion, social inequality, and corruption associated with powerful officials.

Iraqi authorities are displaying growing hostility towards critical journalists which is aggravating an already difficult climate for journalists.

Journalist Mohamed Baidawy was shot in the head by an officer at a checkpoint in Baghdad on 22 March 2014 while he was on his way to work.