Erbil Security Aggressive against SPEDA TV

Kurdistani Islamic Union TV, SPEDA, was subjected to an assault by security forces during its coverage of the demonstration that was held by women students in Erbil on Sunday.
Media persons BazianBarazanji (correspondent) and Hoshiar Hussein (Cameraman) told Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq that they were heading to the area where the women students were demonstrating at one of their dormitoriesnear Erbil’s Technical Institute, as a response to the demonstrators’ voices to focus on poor services delivery; the staff was stormed with a raging assault by Erbil security forces, where they were beaten, kicked, and insulted.
They added that the aggression did not stop at this point, rather, they were dragged to a nearby police station and kept there for an hour. They were released for the intervention of Erbil’s Governor after being informed about the incident by the head of the channel.
The assault bruised Hoshiar who was beaten by four security elements along with his colleague.
At the time when Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq severely condemns the aggression, it demands opening an investigation for the incident, and hold all those involved accountable. The Association warns from the continuous limitations and related actions imposed on press freedoms in KRG, and calls on International Organizations to act and take a vital role in dismantling this systemized targeting that journalists are subjected to in the region to obscure information from public.