New annual media safety statistics for 2017 published in Iraq

IMS Iraqi partner Metro Center for Journalist Rights & Advocacy published on Sunday the 14th of January their annual report of violations against journalists. This includes the killing of eight journalists and 419 cases of press freedom violations and harassments of media in Iraq.

The chairman of Metro Center, Mr. Rahman Ghareeb asked authorities to investigate all the cases, especially those involving killings of journalists.

The report was launched at a press conference in the city of Sulaymaniyah with a number of officials attending, including the vice chairman of the Iraqi Parliament Aram Mohammed.

Mr. Mohammed said that the statistics of violations registered by Metro Center puts responsibility on the government to investigate those violations, adding that he appreciate  “the valuable role of IMS  for the support in the issuance of reports on the situation of freedom of the press and the efforts to put an end to the phenomenon of impunity”.

The Chairman of the Parliament Committee on Culture and Information, Mr. Farhan Jawhar, encouraged all journalists to honor facts-based reporting and also stated that; “We in the Committee on Culture and Information will examine those violations and we call on the government to put an end to those violations.” He also acknowledged IMS and Metro for “the important role you play in the expansion of press freedoms and efforts in the detection of violations against the law on the press work”.

The head of the local government in Suleimaniya, Mr. Hawal Abu Bakr, called for more collaboration in order to put an end to violations, but also asked media to not distort the truth.

The conference ceremony was attended by 300 correspondents from Iraqi, Arab and foreign media, parliamentary and governmental officials, NGO activists, defenders of human rights and the rights of women.

The Arab world and the Middle East had registered in 2017 (24) cases of journalist killing, according International Federation of Journalists IFJ. Iraq ranked in 2017 the first place among the countries of the Middle East that is most deadly for journalists where at least eight journalists were killed in Iraq.