June 22nd, 2026: Legal cases with a political dimension are developing and subjected to the political conflict between the PUK and KDP, thus calling into question not only the freedom of the press, but also the rule of law.
Metro Center has received more than 10 cases of publication in the past two months, each of which should have been dealt with according to the Journalism Law, not another law. However, the courts resort to Law No. 6 of 2008 on the "Prohibition of Misuse of Communication Devices”, which carries a penalty ranging from six months to five years in prison.
This law goes beyond dealing with the social problems created by communication devices and the Internet. Instead, terms such as "publishing false news, making accusations over the Internet” are used in the law for different purposes, especially against critics and journalists.
The latest is an arrest warrant signed by the Interior Minister on May 7th, 2026, for the chairman of the board of directors of Channel 8, Ahmad Najm, and journalist Bzhar Dabagh. This media war has paved the way for the PUK also to file lawsuits against the KDP journalists on the same grounds.
Metro learned that the PUK asked the Interior Minister not to issue the arrest warrant and to take into account the situation until the defendants appear in court, but after this request, the minister issued the order.
The Interior Ministry's letter, No. 13175, called on all internal security forces to arrest the suspects and set them before the Erbil Court of Investigation.
Metro Center is sure that no police station in Sulaymaniyah province and its surroundings will implement the request of the Interior Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government and due to political division, they don’t consider him their minister either, this is true for the orders of Sulaymaniyah too.
The PUK and KDP have established a large part of the media for political warfare, to defeat rivals, to darken regionalism and hatred, to distort the truth and destroy the spirit of unity, while creating a discourse environment in which the political process suffers.
Legal cases with a political dimension are developing and subjected to the political conflict between the PUK and KDP, thus calling into question not only the freedom of the press, but also the rule of law.
Resorting to Law No. 6 of 2008 "Law on Prohibition of Misuse of Communication Devices” in cases related to journalists and media outlets, underestimates Law No. 35 of 2007 "Journalism Law” in Kurdistan and we need to work together to fight it.