4/5/2025
The Communications and Media Commission has issued a decision to suspend the program “Al-Haq Yuqal” (“The Truth Be Told”), which airs on
UTV and is hosted by journalist Adnan Al-Taie, for a period of seven days.
In an official document, the Commission claimed that the decision was based on what it described as violations related to the content of the episode aired on April 30, 2025, stating that it contained clear breaches of media broadcasting regulations.
The Press Freedom Advocacy Association condemns this unjust decision by the Communications and Media Commission and expresses its solidarity with journalist Adnan Al-Taie. The Association considers the Commission’s decision a blatant assault on press freedom and a deliberate silencing of voices, posing a direct threat to all those seeking to uncover the truth and confront corruption and mismanagement through media platforms.
The Association also views the Commission’s decision as a violation of the constitution and an overreach of its authority, emphasizing that the Commission is a regulatory body—not a judicial one—and thus has no mandate to issue punitive rulings in such a manner. This decision negatively impacts media freedoms and threatens the democracy guaranteed by the Iraqi Constitution.
The Association calls on government authorities to overturn this unfair decision and reiterates its call for the enactment of a law ensuring the right to access information, as a fundamental step toward ending the systematic restriction of freedom of expression and the press in Iraq.
