In 2023, the Metro Center, an organization working on the protection of journalists’ rights in the KR-I, recorded 37 arrests of journalists and 27 incidents of journalists facing attacks, threats, and insults. In the first three months of 2024, according to Amnesty International’s documentation, the KR-I authorities have detained or summoned at least 10 journalists in relation to their journalism work. Others are already serving prison sentences after grossly unfair trials

The authorities of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I) must end their assault on the right to freedom of expression and press freedom, including the arbitrary detention, beating and grossly unfair trials of journalists, Amnesty International said today ahead of World Press Freedom Day. The harassment, intimidation and attacks against journalists have had a chilling effect on the right to freedom of expression and press freedom in the KR-I, with many journalists forced to flee or go into hiding or give up journalism altogether while many others remain in jail.

“The KR-I authorities boast that the Region is a ‘beacon of press freedom’, but that is a ludicrous claim given their crackdown on press freedom and the harassment, intimidation and prosecution  of journalists, especially those who have reported on allegations of corruption and criticized authorities’ handling of social issues.  The authorities’ assault on press freedoms has created a culture of fear engineered to stifle peaceful dissent and perpetuate impunity,” said Bissan Fakih, Amnesty International’s Iraq Campaigner.

The KR-I authorities boast that the Region is a ‘beacon of press freedom’, but that is a ludicrous claim given their crackdown on press freedom and the harassment, intimidation and prosecution  of journalists, especially those who have reported on allegations of corruption and criticized authorities’ handling of social issues.

Bissan Fakih, Amnesty International’s Iraq Campaigner

In 2023, the Metro Center, an organization working on the protection of journalists’ rights in the KR-I, recorded 37 arrests of journalists and 27 incidents of journalists facing attacks, threats, and insults. In the first three months of 2024, according to Amnesty International’s documentation, the KR-I authorities have detained or summoned at least 10 journalists in relation to their journalism work. Others are already serving prison sentences after grossly unfair trials. 

Amnesty International spoke to eight journalists and relatives of detained journalists and their lawyers, and reviewed court documents pertaining to four cases against detained journalists in the KR-I, all of whom spoke about the obstacles to freedom of the press in the KR-I.

Arbitrary detention and unfair trials

Journalist Qahraman Shukri is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence following a grossly unfair and secret trial. Before his arrest, he was critical of the Kurdish authorities’ handling of Turkish air strikes in the KR-I.

His brother, Zeravan Shukri, told Amnesty International that in January 2021, the Asayish, the KR-I government’s primary security and intelligence agency, violently arrested Qahraman during a raid in which they knocked down the main door to his house in the Duhok governorate and dragged him out of bed.

Qahraman Shukri was forcibly disappeared for four months, until his family received a phone call from a member of the Asayish informing them that he was being detained at Zerka Prison in Duhok. When his family visited him for the first time in May 2021, Qahraman told them that security forces beat him until he confessed to crimes that he did not commit. “He was scared and wanted to make the beatings stop,” his brother said. Qahraman also told them he did not have legal representation during his interrogations. The family also said that they did not know Qahraman had been charged and tried until after the sentencing when they were allowed to visit him.

Court documents reviewed by Amnesty International revealed that the Duhok Criminal Court convicted him of “joining and spying for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and sharing material with them.” He was not permitted to select a lawyer of his own choice for the trial nor given adequate time to prepare a defence. Qahraman told his brother he was unaware of the trial until he was transported suddenly in a security vehicle to the Duhok Criminal Court.

On 12 October 2023, the Court of Cassation upheld his conviction and sentence even after Shukri told the judges that his “confessions” were extracted under duress.

“From the moment of his arrest Qahraman Shukri’s basic rights including his right to a fair trial have been flagrantly violated – he was beaten, forced to confess, denied access to a lawyer,” said Bissan Fakih.

Shukri’s brother, also a journalist, told Amnesty International he has received multiple threats telling him to”keep his mouth shut” for advocating on behalf of his brother’s release. “I left [Kurdistan] to protect my family because they lived in constant fear that I was also going to be arrested,” the brother said.

Sherwan Sherwani, another journalist whose work focused on human rights, freedom of expression and corruption issues, was arrested on 7 October 2021 and charged four months later along with four other journalists and activists with bogus charges of espionage and sharing information with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The trial was marred by serious violations of the right to a fair trial, including allegations of torture and other ill-treatment that were not investigated, the reliance on torture-tainted confessions, and a refusal to allow defence lawyers timely access to the case files.

Sherwan Sherwani was scheduled to be released on 9 September 2023, but an Erbil Criminal Court on 20 July 2023 brought additional baseless charges against him that were designed to keep him behind bars. He was sentenced to a further four years in prison. Amnesty International has learned that further spurious charges have been brought against Sherwan Sherwani for which he is currently awaiting trial.

Chilling climate for journalists

While a number of journalists have been prosecuted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms, in the majority of cases, the authorities have subjected journalists to harassment and intimidation, silencing critical voices. Amnesty International is aware of at least eight journalists who have fled the KR-I in the past four years fearing for their safety. Many of them worked in outlets that were perceived to be critical of the authorities and covered issues of alleged corruption in the KRG.

No one should face harassment and intimidation simply for carrying out their journalistic work. The KRG should immediately and unconditionally release all those detained solely for their journalistic work.

Bissan Fakih, Amnesty International’s Iraq Campaigner

One journalist who had collaborated with Sherwan Sherwani on corruption and social issues told Amnesty International that the Asayish and the intelligence agency of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the Parastin, arrested him 11 times before he fled in 2020. The Kurdistan Democratic Party is the ruling party of the KRG. The journalist said he was never presented with an arrest warrant.

“No one should face harassment and intimidation simply for carrying out their journalistic work. The KRG should immediately and unconditionally release all those detained solely for their journalistic work. Authorities should uphold human rights and press freedom and take credible steps to create a conducive environment where journalists can carry out their work safely and people are allowed to express critical opinions freely,” said Bissan Fakih.