KJS reports 73 cases of media and journalists’ rights violations in 2022
At least 73 violations of media and journalists’ rights, including
arbitrary arrests, physical attacks, the closing of TV channels, and the
confiscation of media equipment were recorded in Iraqi Kurdistan in 2022, according
to a new report published by the Kurdistan Journalists’ Syndicate (KJS) in
cooperation with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). The IFJ
joins its affiliate the KJS in condemning the attacks on media freedom, which
pose a threat to the democratic process in the region, and calls on the
authorities to take action to guarantee journalists’ safety.
The violations documented in the press freedom report include 19 arrests
of journalists, 20 media coverage bans, 10 attacks and insults against media
workers, 7 threats against media professionals and 7 confiscations of
journalists’ equipment, among others. In all, 158 media organisations and
journalists endured attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan in 2022.
Most of the media violations occurred in Erbil, the region’s capital,
where the KJS registered 21 cases, followed by the governorate of Sulaymaniyah,
located in eastern Iraqi Kurdistan, where 18 violations were reported, and the
governorate of Duhok in the north of the region, where 16 cases were documented.
A report on the ‘Conditions of Women Journalists in the Kurdistan
Region’ was published alongside the press freedom report. The study, which
acknowledges the increase of women journalists in the profession, reveals that
female media workers have to overcome wage discrimination, structural barriers
and stereotyping, mainly derived from social codes.
The KJS organised a number of activities to enhance the role of women in
media institutions, such as training sessions, closely monitoring the working
conditions of women journalists, and conducting two surveys aimed at
identifying the rights violations female colleagues experience in the course of
their work.
In 2020, the findings of the first study, which surveyed 1001 women
journalists, revealed that 50% of the respondents endured sexual harassment and
threats within the exercise of the profession. A second study carried out in
2021 involving 70 women journalists showed that 91% of them were subjected to
violence and were prevented from practising the profession by their families.
In the same vein, half of the respondents confirmed being subjected to
harassment, being perpetrated by general managers and department officials in
the majority of the cases.
The KJS called on the relevant authorities to take concrete steps to
halt media and journalists’ rights violations, particularly among women
journalists. "The series of violations against journalists continues in the
Kurdistan Region, and thus the freedom of journalistic work remains threatened
under these circumstances. [...] In addition to the injury of a number of
journalists, which is considered a serious phenomenon, witnessed last year,
there are ongoing violations such as preventing the practice of the profession,
discrimination at work, belittling and threats”.
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said:
"This pattern of attacks on journalists and the media by the security forces
and law enforcement agencies has been recorded by the KJS year after year. The government of the Kurdistan Region of
Iraq must make concrete efforts to put an end to these attacks. We also call on
media organisations to respect equal rights and ensure the safety of women
journalists.”
https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/category/press-releases/article/iraqi-kurdistan-kjs-reports-73-cases-of-media-and-journalists-rights-violations-in-2022
PM:10:05:28/10/2023