June 1, 2025
The Head of the Journalists Syndicate in Basra, Sadiq Al-Ali, has filed a lawsuit against the Director of Basra 365 TV channel, Hadeel Al-Mawla, on charges of defamation.
Al-Mawla told the Iraqi Association for the Defense of Press Freedom that a group of journalists is leading a systematic campaign against her institution, resulting in the defamation of her reputation and ongoing acts of harassment.
She confirmed that the Head of the Syndicate’s Basra branch filed the lawsuit in response to a Facebook post in which she criticized the Syndicate’s silence regarding the campaign targeting her and the media institution she oversees.
The Iraqi Association for the Defense of Press Freedom expresses its solidarity with Ms. Al-Mawla and considers the defamation and smear campaign against her a harmful tactic aimed at restricting press freedom for political purposes.
The Association calls for necessary protections for journalists and urges an end to attempts to silence them by undermining the role of journalism in exposing corruption and addressing issues that affect citizens’ lives.
