Iraq
Systematic attacks on news outlets in IraqPosted Mar 2 2011
All of the computers and archives were stolen from the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO) in Baghdad after an armed raid on Feb. 23. The JFO is the Iraqi partner organization of Reporters Without Borders.
According to JFO director, Ziyad Al-Ajili, a dozen gunmen belonging to private security forces burst into the office at 6:30 a.m. The gunmen broke down doors and took equipment, including four laptops, two cameras, two video cameras and 10 bulletproof jackets marked “Press.” The gunmen also took all of JFO’s archived work since 2004.
“The government is behind this attack,” said Al-Ajili in the Reporters Without Borders brief. “The JFO is fighting for media freedom to become a reality in Iraq and, as such, clearly poses a threat to the authorities.”
Security forces also raided Medias magazine’s Baghdad headquarters on Feb. 23, according to Reporters Without Borders. A similar raid, complete with security forces, broken doors and stolen archives, was carried out against the Baghdad Media Center, which organized media training and seminars.
Police and armed civilians also attacked Ayn, an NGO that monitors elections in Baghdad. Equipment and archives were taken.
In addition, journalist Muntazer Al-Zaydi was arrested on Feb. 24 when he “tried to give a news conference,” according to Reporters Without Borders.
Day of Rage
Thousands of people filled streets across the country to protest “corruption and a lack of basic services in an organized nationwide ‘day of rage,’ inspired by uprisings around the Arab world,” according to Al-Jazeera.
Journalists fought back after the crackdown on Iraqi press leading up to the planned protests on Feb. 25. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that 23 journalists announced they would cease coverage of the military commander and the Baghdad Operations Command (BOC) unless they received a formal apology and assurances of protection.
Qassim Atta, the head of BOC, complied. According to CPJ, Atta, in an interview with Sumaria News, offered “an apology to all the journalists who were arrested and beaten by security forces while covering demonstrations on Friday.”
On Feb. 23, the Iraqi military announced that they would ban satellite TV coverage of the planned demonstration in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square. According to Reporters Without Borders, the reporters need to be accompanied by satellite uplink trucks, which were not allowed near the demonstration because of the danger of car bombs.
But Reporters Without Borders disagrees. “The authorities are clearly using security as a pretext for preventing live coverage of these protests. The aim is to prevent Iraqis and the rest of the world from seeing the scale of the discontent. This violates the right of journalists to work without obstruction.”
The CPJ also reported that security forces stormed a satellite TV office, detained dozens of journalists and confiscated equipment. In Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, security forces prohibited cameras from entering when thousands of people protested.
In Iraq’s northern region of Kurdistan, 50 masked gunmen attacked the Naliya Radio and Television headquarters to prevent the station from covering unrest in the city of Sulaymaniyah, according to Reporters Without Borders. The gunmen destroyed the broadcasting equipment and set fire to the building. The station had received threats to stop covering the protests but was told by senior government officials that nothing would happen. The damage is estimated at $9 million USD.