International organisations have raised the alarm over the deteriorating state of press freedom in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) following the recent arrest of TV presenter Islam Kashani and further jail sentences imposed on journalists Sherwan Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari, both already under sentence of imprisonment.
On Friday, the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called for the “immediate release” of TV presenter Islam Kashani, who was arrested on Thursday in Zakho. Amnesty International also made an “urgent appeal” for the release of Sherwani and Zebari, both of whom were recently sentenced to additional prison time just as they were due for release.
Amnesty International’s urgent action dated 23 August 2023 stated that Sherwani and Zebari, imprisoned since October 2020, are facing spurious new charges. It said that Zebari, who had been scheduled for release on 16 August, was informed on the same day that he was being charged with another offence, and that Sherwani was due to be released on 9 September but was sentenced on 20 July to an additional four years in prison. Amnesty urged their immediate release, stating that both journalists had been imprisoned following a “grossly unfair trial.”
Kashani was arrested by Zakho’s internal security forces (Asayish) and accused of having ties with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). However, the Duhok branch of the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate suggested that there may have been other reasons for his arrest, including his criticism of the government, a position supported by the report of the CPK that: “Kashani criticized the Kurdistan Regional Government’s alleged corruption and mismanagement of public salaries, as well as the poor living conditions of local security forces”, on his news programme the day before being arrested.
The CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa programme coordinator Sherif Mansour said, “[The Iraqi Kurdish] authorities must end their pattern of detaining and intimidating journalists, and allow them to cover issues of public interest freely.” The Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate also condemned Kashani’s arrest, saying it “imposes restrictions on freedom of expression”.
