Kurdish female journalist wins CPJ's 2022 International Press Freedom Awards

Photo Credit: CPJ

Kurdish journalist Niyaz Abdullah won the 2022 International Press Freedom Award which is provided by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

A statement by the CPJ described Abdullah as a prominent freelance journalist from the Kurdistan Region who regularly contributes to media outlets, including Radio Nawa, the broadcaster NRT, and the news websites Westga, Zhyan News Network, Hawlati, and Skurd, among others. 

Abdullah has covered politics, civil unrest, government corruption, human rights, and ethnic and religious minorities in Iraqi Kurdistan. In 2021, she covered the cases of Iraqi Kurdish journalists and civil society activists convicted on national security charges with flimsy evidence. 

The CPJ's statement also pointed out that she faced legal harassment by security forces and local authorities for criticizing Kurdish Prime Minister’s crackdown on press freedom and freedom of expression, and she was detained and threatened with violence over her work. In 2021, she fled to France to escape threats against her. 

Honoring Abdullah with this year’s IPFA offers a powerful recognition of her essential contributions to the coverage of Iraqi Kurdistan and her unfailing commitment to the ideals of a free and democratic society in the face of grave personal risk.

CPJ’s annual International Press Freedom Awards and benefit dinner will honor courageous journalists from around the world on Thursday, November 17, 2022, in New York City. This year’s dinner will be chaired by Shari Redstone, who leads Paramount Global.



PUKmedia