Iraq/Kurdistan: Duhok Security Forces Detain Hejîn Fetah and Colleagues
Women Press Freedom calls for authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan to cease harassing press
Location: Iraq/Kurdistan, Amedi
Date: July 10, 2024Update: July 14, 2024
Security forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government detained Hejîn Fetah and her Zoom News colleagues who were reporting on Turkish military actions in the Amedi district for 10 hours. Despite the authorities’ assertions of supporting a free press, the arbitrary detention of the journalists, along with the lengthy prison sentences given to several journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan in recent years, reveals a different reality. The murder suspect of Nagihan Akarsel in 2022 has been allowed to commit his crime with impunity. The government must align its actions with its claims and consistently uphold the rights of the press in the region. Women Press Freedom condemns the detention of journalists simply fulfilling their duties. While we recognize the challenges of ensuring press access in conflict zones, detaining journalists for their reporting is unacceptable. We welcome the release of the Zoom News team and urge authorities to stop harassing, impeding, and jailing journalists, as their reporting is important for both local communities and the global audience.
On July 10, 2024, security forces detained journalist Hejîn Fetah and her team from Zoom News in the Amedi district, a region of Iraqi Kurdistan, near the Turkish border.
The crew was en route to cover a protest by Guharze village residents against ongoing Turkish military operations in border villages. Recently, tensions have heightened due to increased Turkish military activities targeting alleged Kurdish militant positions in northern Iraq, including the Amedi district. According to the Zoom Media Agency, the journalists had been actively reporting on the situation for several weeks.
Fatah and her cameraman were released the following morning, although the circumstances surrounding their release remain unclear.
Security forces have continued impeding and detaining journalists reporting on growing tensions. On July 14, 2024, Nzhiar Mohammed and his cameraman and driver were detained in the Amedi region, while Hogar Halgurd Sulaimani and Armand Shuan were detained the same day while covering a demonstration in Takya Jabari, confiscating their equipment. All have been released.
In recent years, press freedom in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq — ruled by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) — has become severely compromised, marked by harassment, intimidation, and violent crackdowns on journalists. Despite claims of being a "beacon of press freedom," authorities in the region have engaged in arbitrary detentions, unfair trials, and torture to extract forced confessions from journalists.
Prominent Kurdish journalist Nagihan Akarsel was shot multiple times and killed in broad daylight in Sulaymaniyah, Northern Iraq, on October 4, 2022. Authorities later identified Ismail Peker, a Turkish citizen, as the assailant. However, no legal action has been taken to convict the perpetrator or investigate his motives.
Last year, Women Press Freedom documented the detention of Soma Khalid, a journalist working for Kurdish media outlet KNN TV, targeted over a report criticizing the management and staff of Sulaimani’s Shar Hospital for their poor treatment of patients.
Other high-profile cases, such as those of Qahraman Shukri and Sherwan Sherwani, illustrate the ongoing repression, with journalists facing lengthy prison sentences and baseless charges.
The detention of Hejîn Fatah and her colleagues by KDP forces exemplifies a disturbing trend of media suppression and intimidation in Iraqi Kurdistan. Women Press Freedom condemns these actions and calls on authorities to respect the rights of journalists. Arbitrary detentions and the harassment of journalists who cover conflict and sensitive issues must come to an end.
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