18/2/2020
Security forces in Kirkuk prevented the media from covering a demonstration in the province on Tuesday morning.
“I News” cameraman Sarmad al-Jumar told Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq that he and the channel’s correspondent Abdullah al-Ameri were on a press mission, to cover a demonstration by the owners of some shops in the market in Kirkuk, to demand the return of their shops its reconstruction. The media was prevented by the security forces present there are along with other media channels (Al-Rashid TV, Kurdish Rudaw, K24, Kurdish NRT, Iraqi Turkmen, Kurdish Bayan, Kirkuk satellite, Reuters and Kirkuk Now) from covering the demonstration, while a security member verbally assaulted the journalists there.
The Qaisariya market in Kirkuk, which is located in the center of the province, was hit by a fire that caused damage and was committed by a Turkish company to rebuild it, and after completing it, the shopkeepers in the demonstration demanded the return of their shops.
The Association condemns what the media in Kirkuk has been subjected to as a journalistic violation and a constitutional and legal breach of the principles of press freedom in the country.
The association also calls on the security services in Kirkuk to show flexibility in dealing with journalists and to stop preventing the media from carrying out their duties, in conveying the reality to the public.
