13/6/2020
Security forces in Basra prevented journalists from reaching their places of work on Saturday morning.
The coordinator of Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq, Shihab Ahmed said that the security forces prevented him from reaching his place of work at Rashid Radio, as well as preventing reporters of the i- News and Alitijah channels’ correspondents; Ali al-Batat and Fouad al-Halafi, in the areas of Jubaila, Twasa and Al-Ashar, from reaching their work places.
Shihab said security had been tightened in the province since early Monday, coinciding with demonstrations calling for the governor’s dismissal and a group of security leaders upon protesting against the failure to prosecute the killers of the protesters.
Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq condemns the ban on journalists from doing their work, and it is considered a clear violation of the freedom of journalists and media workers, and against the decisions of the High Committee for Health and Safety, which excluded journalists from the quarantine.
The association calls on the competent security authorities in Basra to stop using deliberate irritating tactics to restrict the movement of journalists, preventing them from carrying out their work, and to allow them to cover ongoing events.
