Today, May 3rd, 2026, the team of Metro Center welcomed both Mr. Kawa Mahmoud, President of the Global Civilization Initiative Research Center and Mr. Goran Qadir, member of the Central Relations of the Kurdistan Communist Party.

On the occasion of Press Freedom Day, both congratulated the journalists and thanked Metro Center for monitoring the situation of press freedom.

The meeting was an opportunity to discuss the environment of press freedom and journalistic work and the importance of assessing opportunities and seeking tools to remove obstacles on freedoms.

Metro’s team was pleased with the visit and hoped that this relationship will continue to grow.

This year, as we welcome World Journalism Day, according to Reporters Without Borders, Iraq is at the lowest ranking and has dropped seven places and the Kurdistan Region does not fully implement the journalism law, two journalists are in prison, last year, 315 violations were recorded against 252 journalists and media outlets, including the closure of Zoom Tv in Sulaymaniyah and NRT in Erbil and Duhok. Violations, harassment, intimidation of journalists, prevention of coverage and attacks on field journalists continue. Political money dominates the journalistic scene and is used for futile political warfare.