Journalists in Iraq, Kurdistan ‘face threats from all sides’: press freedom watchdog

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Threats to journalists’ lives and safety, unequal funding, defamation lawsuits, and political instability put Iraq among the world’s countries with “very serious” violations of press freedom, as ranked by Reporters without Borders (RSF) in its annual World Press Freedom Indicator.

The report published by RSF on Friday, World Press Freedom Day, ranks Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, 169 out of 180 countries, two spots lower than the previous year.

“Between terrorism, political instability and protests, journalists face threats from all sides and come up against the weakness of the state, which is failing in its duty to protect them,” read the report.

Balanced and independent information is “almost impossible” to come by due to extreme polarization and political influence over the media, according to RSF, which said that journalists have been under constant threats since 2019.

Although the Iraqi constitution guarantees press freedom, it is contradicted by some laws, according to the RSF report.

“A cyber-crime bill that keeps being resubmitted provides for prison sentences (including life imprisonment) for online posts that endanger ‘the independence, unity or integrity of the country, or its economic, political, military or security interests’,” the report stated, noting that the journalist are targets of defamation lawsuits for their investigative reporting.

RSF also noted that media funding is “unequally distributed and closely tied to political affiliation,” and lack of funds drove many media outlets to abandon their editorial independence, and in some cases, they completely stopped operating.

Death threats and abductions are another common practice used to terrorize and silence journalists.

“Influential, high-profile journalists used to be the main targets of this form of intimidation but nowadays it is also used against lesser-known journalists,” the report said.

Media outlets have been attacked and ransacked for covering protests and in the Kurdistan Region, “critical journalists have been accused of espionage and imprisoned,” RSF stated.

Kurdistan Region’s press freedom violations came under fire in an report from Amnesty International on Thursday, which said Kurdish authorities “must end their assault on the right to freedom of expression and press freedom.” The assaults include “arbitrary detention, beating and grossly unfair trials of journalists.”

“The harassment, intimidation and attacks against journalists have had a chilling effect on the right to freedom of expression and press freedom in the KR-I [Kurdistan Region-Iraq], with many journalists forced to flee or go into hiding or give up journalism altogether while many others remain in jail,” said Amnesty.

The Metro Center for Journalists Rights and Advocacy, a Kurdish media watchdog, documented 249 violations committed against journalists and media outlets in 2023, down from 431 in 2022.

Kurdish authorities have repeatedly faced criticism by international organizations and foreign missions for their treatment of journalists as well as for imposing restrictive measures on the press. 

A United States State Department report on human rights practices for 2023, published last month, stated that human rights conditions in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region have worsened compared to the previous year, including increased restrictions on fundamental freedoms and civic space by both Erbil and Baghdad.

The US Consulate in Erbil in February said Washington is concerned about the “recent backsliding” of press freedom in the Kurdistan Region. The KRG denied the accusation, claiming that the diplomatic mission had in fact voiced its appreciation for a “decline” in violations against journalists.

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 said in their annual report in January 2023.

The Amnesty report highlights cases of journalists such as Qaraman Shukri, who is serving a seven-year prison sentence “following a grossly unfair and secret trial” for being critical of the Kurdistan Region authorities’ handling of Turkish airstrikes.

The case of Sherwan Sherwani is also mentioned. He was detained on “bogus charges of espionage and sharing information with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK),” Amnesty stated.

Sherwani was due to be released in September 2023, but was slapped with an additional four year sentence in July. Amnesty labeled the charges as baseless and “designed to keep him behind bars,” adding that the journalist is currently awaiting trial on more charges.