The year 2024 marked another setback for media freedom in Iraq. Data recorded throughout the year by the Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq revealed a troubling rise in violations against journalists. These figures reflected a reality that disregarded constitutional protections and contravened international standards concerning press freedom. Consequently, the working conditions for media professionals have deteriorated significantly, with harassment or violence against journalists reported almost daily.
\nThe recorded violations took various forms, including assassinations, bans on coverage, physical assaults, threats, lawsuits, arrest warrants, raids, job terminations, and the blocking of journalists and news websites. These actions were often carried out by government institutions operating beyond their mandate.
\nThe pervasive influence of certain government institutions was evident, as security agencies frequently employed heavy-handed and police-like tactics. In many cases, these actions were either directly ordered by senior security officials or the result of individual officers’ personal decisions.
\nAuthoritarians targeted journalists through their agents or by shielding perpetrators from accountability. They also weaponized the judiciary, filing defamation lawsuits based on outdated laws from the 1960s and 1970s. Such judicial harassment has escalated alarmingly, pursuing journalists wherever they go under the pretext that exposing corruption constitutes a form of defamation.
\nIndependent bodies and professional unions have also played a significant role in suppressing and intimidating journalists. Their efforts to censor the harsh realities of life in Iraq included imposing restrictions on media outlets, issuing warnings, and arbitrarily barring individuals from appearing in the media at the whims of powerful figures.
\nThe Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, which should have been a defender of journalists’ rights, instead emerged as a source of repression, according to the report. It filed lawsuits against journalists, revoked work licenses for newspapers, and even issued directives to governmental organizations prohibiting collaboration with journalists critical of the syndicate or its leadership. s syndicate\u2019s experts added to the attitude by issuing a number of recommendations to the courts concerning reaching the sentences against the journalists who had been sued by governmental sides.
\nArmed factions have continued to raid television stations and vandalize their equipment with impunity. This persists due to the weak performance of government security forces, which fail to protect media institutions. Instead, some independent bodies align with the agendas of these factions, further exacerbating the problem.
\nIn 2024, the total number of violations against journalists reached 457. These included cases of detention, injuries, armed raids on journalists’ homes and media offices, physical assaults, obstruction of journalistic work, and lawsuits filed against media professionals; detailed as follows:
\n\u2022\tJournalist Victims: 5 killed and 1 critically injured.
\n\u2022\tDetentions: 23 cases.
\n\u2022\tArrests: 11 cases.
\n\u2022\tArmed Attacks: 7 cases.
\n\u2022\tPrevention and Obstruction of Coverage: 280 cases.
\n\u2022\tPhysical Assaults: 17 cases.
\n\u2022\tLawsuits Filed Against Journalists: 68 cases.
\n\u2022\tViolations by the Communications and Media Commission: 17 cases.
\n\u2022\tBlocking and Banning: 9 news websites, television programs, and journalist accounts.
\n\u2022\tViolations by the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate: 7 cases.
\n\u2022\tDirect Threats: 2 journalists.
\n\u2022\tOther Violations: 10 cases.
\nThe Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq\u2019s monitoring over the past months identified May as the month with the highest number of violations (82 cases), followed by April with 58 cases, out of the total violations recorded during the year.
\nRegarding geographic distribution, Erbil and Baghdad topped the list of cities with the most violations against journalists, recording 103 and 100 cases, respectively, followed by Sulaymaniyah with 58 cases.<\/p>\n