Kurdish journalists face "grave" violations in Kirkuk
Shafaq News / The Committee to Defend Journalistic Freedoms and Rights in the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate announced today, Monday, new violations against Kurdish journalists in Kirkuk, calling on Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi to intervene.
It said in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency, “since the beginning of 2020, The Kurdistan Journalists has made many attempts to reach an agreement with the relevant authorities in Kirkuk to stop violations against Kurdish journalists without reaching a positive result."
The committee clarified that “the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate sent a memorandum to Iraqi Prime Minister to find a common understanding and legal language to prevent irresponsible actions of the armed forces and groups in Kirkuk and address the violations against the Kurdish journalists and institutions", expressing, "the journalists were exposed again to severe violations during their coverage of the conflict between the Kurds and Arab citizens in Kirkuk areas."
The statement continued that those violations "started with an attack by security forces on Kurdish channels present at the scene and took over the journalists' equipment, and arrested a number of journalists."
it added, "We express our condemnation of these unlawful and racist acts in the field," noting that "these repeated violations are contrary to the Iraqi Prime Minister approach that declared working to build a democratic Iraq in which to treat everyone equally."
The statement held "the Iraqi government responsible for the safety of the arrested journalists.”
It also called on "the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate to perform its legal and professional duties by condemning such violations."
It is noteworthy that the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate Azad Amin informed the PM of the Federal Government, on May 18, 2020 that the Kurdish journalists in the disputed areas covered by Article 140 of the Constitution, including the governorate of Kirkuk, were attacked, arrested and accused of "terrorism" by the dominant security services. urging him to intervene immediately to stop these violations
