Another International Report Mentions Kurdistan's Limited Freedom

Reports 09:24 PM - 2024-04-25

Amnesty International

Amnesty International condemns the KRG for infringements on journalistic freedom and human rights. Published on April 24th, this is the second international report that presents a critical assessment of the state of press freedom and human rights in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq over the past year. Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department published its annual report on April 22. 

Karwan Anwar, Secretary of the Sulaymaniyah Branch of the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate, stated that there has been a noticeable decline in press freedom in Iraq, especially in the Kurdistan Region, when comparing the rights of journalists in recent years to the time when the late President Mam Jalal was in power. 

 

Amnesty International mentions Badinan detainees

Amnesty International said in the report: "In the KR-I, government critics scheduled for release remained behind bars after authorities brought spurious new charges against them. They included journalists Sherwan Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari, imprisoned in the KR-I since October 2020 following a grossly unfair trial."

"Guhdar Zebari was informed on August 16, the day he was scheduled for release, that he had been charged with another offence. He remained in detention at a facility of the Asayish, the KRG security and intelligence agency, until his trial on October 1, when he was sentenced to another six months’ imprisonment for possession of an unlicensed weapon. Sherwan Sherwani was due to be released on September 9, but on July 20, a court sentenced him to an additional four years in prison on charges relating to falsifying Guhdar Zebari’s signature on a petition to the Erbil Adult Reform Prison, to which the latter confirmed he had consented. On November 1, an appeals court in Erbil reduced Sherwan Sherwani’s sentence to two years," Amnesty International continued.

 

LGBTI People's Rights in the Region

Amnesty International mentions the arrest of 2 makeup artists in the Region, saying: "In the KR-I, on September 6, the authorities in Erbil city arrested and detained two well-known beauty experts for, respectively, crossdressing and posting “indecent” images on social media, which the prosecution deemed to be “disrupting the order of society.”. They were released the following week without charge."

 

KRG Fails to protect women's rights 

According to Amnesty International, the KRG's failure to strengthen officially established structures and services for protection has significantly weakened the ability of domestic violence survivors to escape abuse. "Slow judicial processes and difficult living conditions in shelters often left women with little choice but to drop charges against their abusers, further perpetuating impunity," the report added.

 

Erbil's security forces committed violations

Karwan Anwar informed PUKMEDIA: "The U.S. State Department report reveals that there were 345 instances of violations against journalists in Iraq, with the cities of Baghdad and Erbil recording the greatest number of violations."

"The US State Department has expressed concerns in Erbil regarding the security forces' transgressions against journalists. The report also highlights the challenge of preventing demonstrations in Erbil," he further said.

 

Violations against journalists increased

"In contrast to past years, the State Department report specifically emphasised the occurrence of violence targeting social media users. At the same time, the authorities support media channels affiliated with them, while neglecting other channels. This aspect of the report underscores the limited access to information for non-authority-affiliated channels," Anwar said.

He said: "The arrest of journalists and activists in Badinan has taken up an important part of the US State Department's report and has brought shame to the Kurdistan Region. At the same time, attention was drawn to the illegal extension of Badinan detainees' prison terms, as well as their extended imprisonment prior to trial."

 

KRG authorities disregard international laws

Ayhan Saeed, a spokesperson for the incarcerated individuals in Badinan, conveyed to PUKMEDIA: "The infringement of Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights against journalist and activist Sherwan Sherwani indicates that the authorities of the KRG disregard international law and seek the media to act according to their wishes."

"We advocate for a necessary shift in the prevailing police mindset in the Kurdistan Region, in response to concerns expressed by both the local public and the international community. It is imperative to rectify the unfavourable circumstances that have damaged the Region's reputation," he stated. 

 

U.S. Consulate: We must all support a free press

On Kurdish Journalism Day, the U.S. Consulate published a statement saying that they honor this day and quoted: "President Biden stated, “We must all continue to support a free press that is essential to our democracy and democracies everywhere.” 

"We will continue to support media freedom, fair and professional news coverage, neutrality, and access to information in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, and we honor the work of those journalists working in dangerous environments and thank them for bringing the truth to us. Journalists should be able to work without fear of politically motivated intimidation, harassment, or arbitrary detention," the statement added.

 

PUKMEDIA