31/8/2020
A number of protesters stormed the headquarters of Dijla Channel and broke all its equipment, setting fire to the building in response to the musical content aired by The Channel’s Tarab TV in conjunction with the night of the 10th of The Holy Month of Muharram.
The protesters stormed the channel’s headquarters in al-Jadriya neighborhood in central Baghdad, breaking all press equipment and burning the entire building in front of the security forces.
Fire engines rushed to the scene, but the protesters prevented firefighters from doing their work and demanded that they leave immediately, causing the fire to spread to houses adjacent to the channel.
In a related context, Al-Rusafa Investigative Court issued an arrest warrant on Monday morning against the owner of the channel, Jamal al-Karbouli, on the grounds that the channel, which he runs, does not respect Muslims‘ feelings.
The governors of Najaf, Maysan and Diwaniyah on Sunday, suspended the channel’s offices in their cities, while the police chief of Dhi Qar said he would not cooperate with people working for the channel.
The administration of Dijla Channel then issued an official apology, confirming that it was proceeding in accordance with national and professional principles and that Iraq is a red line that could not be discussed, and that it was showing respect for all religions, announcing that it had taken substantial administrative action on the issue of the management of the channel.
The association considered the raid on the channel’s headquarters a clear violation of the freedom of journalistic and media work and it is illegal, and the lawsuit against the channel could have been sufficient.
The association expresses its remorse due to the lack of respect and faith in the constitution by political parties, and how the media is manipulated for political agendas and conflicts that are supposed to be far from the headquarters and the media institutions, according to the constitution.
While the Association expresses its astonishment at the laxity of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces as the country’s highest authority and Minister of Interior and their responsibility to end the chaos in the country, it calls on the government to provide full protection to media organizations and their employees, and to enforce the rule of law.
