ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Nearly 400 violations were committed against journalists and media outlets in the Kurdistan Region in 2020, according to a local press freedom advocacy group, which had the parliament speaker warning of a decline in freedom of expression. Metro Center for Journalists Rights and Advocacy released their annual report for 2020 on Saturday. They reported that, “385 violations have been committed against 291 journalists and media outlets.” This included 74 arrests without a warrant, 163 detentions, the shuttering of four offices of broadcasters, and 42 cases of confiscation of journalists’ equipment. Speaking at the press conference announcing the report, Kurdistan Region’s parliament speaker Rewaz Fayaq said, “I believe the statistics which were just heard tell us that we are at a dangerous level and there is a withdrawal of freedom of expression in general and freedom of journalism in particular.” She described three types of media outlets in the Kurdistan Region – mouthpieces of political parties, shadow media outlets, and private outlets – and warned there is a new type of media that is taking over the information landscape. She called it “purchased media.” Fayaq was referring to social media pages, funded by political parties and influential figures, to defame opponents. She said this type of media is growing “stronger.” The Kurdistan Region’s parliament shelved a controversial digital media regulation bill in August 2020 due to criticism over its content. It was aimed at regulating social media pages. Opponents said the bill failed to adequately distinguish between private, commercial, and journalist accounts. The Kurdistan Region has faced harsh criticism for its treatment of journalists over the past year. In their annual report released on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) security forces “beat and arbitrarily detained protesters and journalists” in August. The KRG used laws “to curb free speech, including the penal code, the Press Law, and the Law to Prevent the Misuse of Telecommunications Equipment,” reads the report. KRG Coordinator for International Advocacy Dindar Zebari claimed that HRW has “generalized” the situation in the Region. Diyari Mohammed, head of Metro Center, told Rudaw’s Hawraz Gulpy late Friday that he agrees with the HRW report, saying it “proves that the situation of freedom of journalism is not good.” Another media activist, Nazakat Hussein, who heads a committee at the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate dedicated to protecting journalists, however, criticized HRW and other international monitors, saying they prepare their reports from a distance, relying on information passed onto them, rather than witnessing first hand. The Kurdistan Region has a Press Law, which prohibits the arrest of a journalist because of their work. Hussein claimed that “most” of the journalists in the Kurdistan Region are “happy” with the Press Law. “It has created a good level of freedom of expression and journalism,” she said, acknowledging that it is “not flawless.” Metro’s Mohammed, however, said the Press Law “is not implemented.” Many violations in 2020 took place during anti-government protests. Rudaw Media Network and several other outlets were issued a warning by the KRG’s Ministry of Youth and Culture in December, asking the channels to refrain from broadcasting “violent scenes” of anti-government protests across the Kurdistan Region. NRT broadcaster also came under pressure from security forces, leading to the temporary closure of its offices in Sulaimani, Duhok, and Erbil. Metro documented 231 press freedom violations in 2019 and 349 in 2018.
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