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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — iPLUS Media Corporation has called on human rights and press freedom groups and the diplomatic community to request an explanation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) after armed forces raided its office on Tuesday.
Security forces raided the offices of the Sulaimani-based iPLUS TV, affiliated with Lahur Talabany, a co-chair of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), on Tuesday, detaining some of its employees. The channel was scheduled to start broadcasting soon.
They broke some of the doors and equipment, removed surveillance cameras, and cut power to the building, according to the corporation.
The iPLUS Media Corporation “requests international and local human rights organizations, press freedom organizations, the representatives of other countries in the region, and the consulates to condemn the attack and ask for an explanation from the Kurdistan Regional Government,” read a Tuesday statement from iPLUS.
The incident comes after Bafel Talabani, who was serving as PUK co-chair for over a year, changed his Facebook and Twitter bios to “president” of the PUK after tensions with his cousin and fellow co-chair Lahur Talabany. The party’s official media also named Bafel Talabani president in an article on Monday.
The Metro Center for Journalists Rights and Advocacy condemned the attack and called on the PUK to not let disputes within the party interfere with the freedom of the press.
“Metro Center strongly condemns the attack on the iPLUS channel by an armed force in Sulaimani,” the center said on Tuesday, asking the PUK to not let the conflicts within the party “silence and limit the freedom of the press.”
Last week, rumors spread that Bafel Talabani and his brother Qubad Talabani, current deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, were trying to change the heads of the PUK’s intelligence agency and counter-terrorism units. The rumors were confirmed on Sunday when the brothers officially inaugurated the two new chiefs in Sulaimani.
The former heads were closely affiliated with Lahur Talabany, including his brother Polad who was head of the counter-terror unit. The replacements are believed to be closer to Bafel Talabani.
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