“The U.S. is concerned about the recent backsliding of press freedom in the IKR and is committed to working with local and international partners to improve the media landscape, including providing professional development opportunities for journalists,” the US consulate in Erbil said in a Facebook post on Thursday.
Peshawa Hawramani, KRG spokesperson, highlighted in a post on X later in the day that there was “a 42 percent drop in the violations against journalists” in the Kurdistan Region in 2023 compared to the previous year, citing the latest figures published by a media watchdog.
“Additionally, during official meetings, the consulate has expressed its appreciation for the decline in the violations and thanked the government for this,” he added.
Rahman Ghareeb, head of Metro Center for Journalists Rights and Advocacy, the media watchdog cited by Hawramani, told Rudaw English on Thursday that “no one can prove that the condition of press freedom in the Kurdistan Region is healthy and perfect as long as we have people [journalists] in jail.”
He noted that while it is true that their 2023 report showed a 42 percent decline in violations against journalists compared to the previous year,“obstruction of journalism has increased.”
Ghareeb also mentioned that he had just been informed that an activist was detained in Erbil province’s Soran administration for planning a protest. “Freedom of expression is being obstructed in the Kurdistan Region,” he said.
According to figures from Metro centre, 431 violations were committed against journalists and media outlets in 2022, dropping to 249 in the past year
Kurdish authorities repeatedly face harsh criticism for their treatment of journalists as well as imposing restrictive measures on the press.
The Kurdistan Region’s authorities used “vaguely worded laws” to suppress dissent and target those who expressed divergent viewpoints, arresting dozens of activists and journalists along the way, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in their annual report in January 2023.
The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office said that the human rights situation in the Kurdistan Region "remained concerning," in its 2022 human rights report published earlier this month.
The KRG’s Office of the Coordinator for International Advocacy (OCIA) responded to the British report, saying that “KRG authorities reiterate that arrests have only occurred with proper warrants, demonstrating their commitment to due process. Moreover, the KRG has implemented robust actions to safeguard rights for peaceful protest, while deeply respecting journalistic freedom from any infringement.”
