5/5/2020
The contractor in charge of managing the Fallujah cement plant of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals prevented the cadres of channels (Dijla, Sharqiya, Fallujah and Anbar) from entering and covering, on Monday.
“”I was accompanied by al-Anbar correspondent Amer al-Anbari, Al-Anbar correspondent Muhannad al-Mahmoud, Sharqiya correspondent Mustafa al-Hamid, and Fallujah channel Salam Khaled, when they went to cover the work in the plant building, against the backdrop of publishing reports on corruption cases and manipulating the quantity of the product,” said Mohammed al-Qaisi, a correspondent for Dijla Channel in Fallujah.
“The approval of the Minister of Industry and Minerals and the Media officer of the ministry have been obtained to enter the factory building and cover the issue, but the investor refused,” Mohammed said.
Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq condemns preventing the press and the media from playing its role, and is considered to have violated and confiscated its right to inform public opinion about who is behind the embezzlement and the manipulation of public funds.
The association also calls on all working entities to facilitate the task of journalists, make way, deal transparently at the time of their work, and adhere to the laws guaranteed by the Constitution that secure freedom for accessing any information that concerns the public interest in the country.