SULAIMANI — The Metro Center for Journalists' Rights and Advocacy said on Friday (October 8) that 41 violations were committed in the Kurdistan Region against 36 journalists during the three months ahead of Iraq’s parliamentary elections, though only a few occurred during the campaign itself when international monitors were on the ground.
"The United Nations and the press freedom advocacy organizations emphasize that monitoring the election process is another important task of the media in a democratic system,” said the watchdog in astatement posted on Facebook.
In the two months before the election campaign, 30 violations were reported, including: one incident involving a shooting, eight incidents of assault and humiliation, three incidents where journalists’ equipment was seized, four cases of detention without a court order, twelve incidents of prevention, and two cases where journalists were forced to sign letters promising that they would not cover certain things.
During the election campaign, which began in early September, there were two incidents where journalists were threatened.
On October 8 during special voting, there were two incidents where journalists were threatened and seven reported incidents where journalists were prevented from recording.
Thirteen of these violations are committed against NRT journalists, including three incidents of assault and humiliation, two incidents where equipment was seized, six incidents of prevention, one time when an NRT journalist was forced to sign a promise letter, and one where an NRT journalist was threatened.
The shooting incident occurred on July 18 when gunmen shot at the car of Editor-in-Chief of Rachlakin News Pishtiwan Zahir as he was going home along Sulaiman city’s Salim Street.
The alleged perpetrators were arrested, according to the Metro Center.
Violations against journalists decreased once international observers were in place in Erbil and elsewhere, though there was a slight uptick during special voting on October 8.
Most Iraqi voters will go to the polls on Sunday.
(NRT Digital Media)