The coordinator of Metro Center said that the decline of freedom of press and expression, political freedom, syndicates and civil society organizations, will have a negative impact on international support for the Kurdistan Region and its experience, which is something the political authorities do not want to understand.

This afternoon, Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025, at the head office of Metro Center in Sulaimani, the Metro team received Matthias Wehler, Deputy Consul general of the Federal Republic of Germany in Erbil, Rebecca Mattes, Consul for Political, Economic and press Affairs.

First, Metro’s team warmly welcomed the delegation and thanked them for visiting during a time where events in the Kurdistan Region are happening quickly, and is not to our liking.

Matthias Wehler, Deputy Consul general of the Federal Republic of Germany in Erbil, thanked their warm welcome and expressed his pleasure for his first meeting with Metro Center and his first visit to Sulaimani.

The coordinator of Metro Center talked about the decline of freedom of the press and expression, political freedom, syndicates and civil society organizations, how it will have a negative impact on international support for the Kurdistan Region and its experience.

In this meeting, Metro’s team went into detail about the issues of freedom in the Kurdistan Region, especially freedom of the press, the closure of Zoom channel, the retrial of Sherwan Sherwani, the use of courts to resolve political conflicts, the sentencing of Shaswar Abdulwahid Qadir, the absence of the principle of equality for all in court and other issues were discussed.

The meeting, which lasted an hour, later was attended by Zoom Director Hemn Mahmoud, talked about the situation of his colleagues, who are 200 employees, as well as the occupation of their channel, the closure of its office and confiscation of equipment that remains the same to this day.