A force affiliated to Deputy President of KRG, Kusort Rasul, attacked a member of Kurdistan Newy Journal editing staff.
Sertib Jawhar, the journalist, told Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq, that an armed force affiliated to the above mentioned person attacked his house at a time when he was absent, so one of his brothers was abducted.
Jawhar confirmed that he was also threatened a few days ago by the same party, accusing him of writing an article under a fake name. he added that Rasul and his allies are all becoming alike and are attacking any critics; an incident that happened several days ago confirms his claim where another journalist was also attacked.
The co-editor of Kurdistani Newy journal stressed that his and his family’s life was endangered holding Kusort responsible for their safety, whereas Jawhar said that his next step was to inform foreign consulates and representations of these violations.
At the time that Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq declares its legal and moral support to Jawhar, it severely condemns the gang style adopted by powerful parties in KRG against the press family.
The Association calls all international agencies and organizations to interfere and protect KRG Journalists from the crimes that are imposed by the authorities’ parties. Noting that they underline a clear violation to the Iraqi institution.
The association also demands that the federal Government interferes to protect Jawhar and hold an investigation to expose the details of the incident, in spite the fact that the article’s writer remains unidentified.
