Diyala’s Health Director verbally assaults reporter

18/6/2020

The administration of Dijla Channel rejected the insults that abused its correspondent in Diyala by the director of health, Dr. Ali Al-Shaji, last week.

Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq learned through a telephone conversation with fellow reporter Ali Ibrahim that he was on a press mission inside the office of the Director General of Health of the province and stayed there for two hours, to obtain information about the procedures of health quarantine in Diyala hospital, but al-Shaji insulted him and told him that he was not honored to meet him.

He posted videos on social media of people living with corona, talking about poor services, throughout their quarantine, which angered a number of officials of the Diyala Health Department.

The association receives numerous complaints from a number of reporters against Al-Shaji, after being insulted directly or by text messages because of the performance of their work.

Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq condemns the repeated abuses against fellow journalists that violate the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of journalistic work.

The association calls on all employees of state institutions to make space for the media to uncover issues of public concern, and to cooperate with them rather than abusing them.