Kurdistan 24 staff detained for covering Kirkuk farm fires

16/5/2020
Security forces in Kirkuk detained the staff of Kurdistan 24 channel, correspondent (Heman Daloui) and cameraman (Nozad Mohammed) while on duty in the province, on Thursday morning.
In a telephone conversation with Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq, Dalou said that he was detained with the cameraman by a security force of the Brigade (20) / 5th Division, at the headquarters of the brigade, who confiscated their personal phones, cameras and other equipment, while covering the impact of fires recently witnessed in wheat and barley fields, in the Zanqre area of Daquk district in Karkuk.
He said that during their interrogation, General (Karim Hasib al-Shammari) had assaulted and verbally abused them, demanding that they rebroadcast the live broadcast and to de-state previous news about the fire.
He noted that the detention period lasted four hours in a row, and he refused to release them until they signed a written pledge not to return and hold any coverage in these areas.
Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq condemns the detention of fellow journalists without an arrest warrant, and it is a clear violation of press freedom, and expresses its displeasure at the repeated abuse by the security leaders against media cadres in the performance of their duties.
The association calls on the Minister of Interior and the concerned authorities in Kirkuk to open an investigation in the detention of the journalists, as it is a legal violation, and to hold the Brigade General accountable for his violations.