PM:07:48:16/01/2022
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SULAIMANI — The Metro Center for Journalists'
Rights and Advocacy said on Sunday (January 16) 353 violations were committed against
260 journalists and media organizations in the Kurdistan Region in 2021.
The organization announced during a ceremony
at Sulaimani’s Ramada Hotel that there were 81 cases of assault, one case of a
journalist who was shot, 25 arrests without a warrant, 13 cases of threats against
journalists and the closure of two media offices.
The center also reported 25 cases of
the confiscation of reporters’ equipment and seven cases of journalists’
equipment being destroyed.
Metro Center also recorded four incidents of court sentences against journalists that were outside the law of journalism. The Kurdistan Region has pursued many legal cases against journalists over
the past year, including the case of the Badinan detainees in Duhok, who
were among numerous arrests during anti-government protests in 2020.
The report noted there were a total of
2,632 violations against 2,165 journalists and media channels recorded over the
previous 10 reports from 2011 to 2022, specifying three of the incidents were
cases of terrorism.
Metro Center said the number of
violations of freedom of the press has decreased by 8 percent compared to 2020.
The decrease of cases does not mean the
working environment is safe for journalists but that the type of violations has
changed, Metro stated.
(NRT Digital Media)