16/7/2021
A joint army and police force prevented KRG 24 staff from covering a murder in Bardi district, north of Kirkuk.
A reporter for the channel, Hayman Dalou, said on a telephone call to the Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq that he and his colleague, photographer Sabah Anwar, went to the town of Qara Bek, north of Kirkuk, to cover the killing of one citizen and the wounding of others, and was surprised as soon as they arrived at the scene, that they were prevented by members of the security forces from filming.
He said the force, which denied them the coverage, had also investigated them, adding that their vehicle was escorted with army vehicles on their way out after they were demanded not to return nor report anything about the incident.
Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq condemns the continued prohibition of journalists from performing their duties, and considers it a clear violation of the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of press work, and asserts that what the security forces are doing against journalists is not within a legal context.
The association holds the Minister of Interior accountable for the actions of the security forces in Kirkuk against the media and its employees, and calls for immediate measures to control the prevention of journalists from performing their journalistic duties.
