Iraqi Kurdistan: Journalists’ union reports 45 cases of media and journalists’ rights violations in 2024

The Kurdistan Journalists' Syndicate (KJS) launched on 11 January its annual press freedom report, documenting at least 45 cases of media and journalists' rights violations. It includes arbitrary arrests, media coverage bans, attacks against journalists and the confiscation of media equipment, among others. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) welcomes a significant decrease in the number of attacks, and joins its affiliate, the KJS, in urging the competent authorities to take concrete action to ensure that infringements of media and journalists' rights do not remain unpunished.

Launch of the KJS' annual press freedom report on 11 January in Duhok. Credit: KJS.

The annual report registered 20 cases of media coverage ban, ten arrests of journalists, ten attacks and insults against media workers, two confiscations of media equipment and two assaults where journalists were beaten, among others. Some of the cases targeted individual media professionals, while others concern groups of journalists or media organisations.

In total, 73 media organisations and journalists endured attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan in 2024.

Although a single case would be too many, this figure shows a significant decline from the 84 media organisations and journalists that were targetedin the first half of 2023, and the 158 that enduredattacks in 2022, according to the KJS previous reports.

In geographic terms, the trend has not changed. As in the previous years, the majority of the cases occurred in Erbil, the region's capital, where the journalists' union registered 13 infringements. In the governorate of Sulaymaniyah, located in eastern Iraqi Kurdistan, and the governorate of Duhok in the north of the region, nine violations were reported, respectively.

IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, praised the work carried out by the KJS in documenting the infringement of media and journalists' rights in the region. "While we welcome the decrease of violence against journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan compared to previous years, we remain vigilant as a single attack is too many. We call on the government of the Kurdistan region to guarantee the safety of journalists and ensure that attacks against media professionals do not go unpunished. Journalists must be allowed to do their job without fear of reprisal".

In April 2024, IFJ President, Dominique Pradalié, and General Secretary met with the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, and called for the establishment of a Press Council that promotes media freedom and regulates journalistic practices in accordance with international standards .

Download the KJS annual report: here.