Iraqi journalists celebrate World Press Freedom Day, amid great suffering due to prosecutions, threats, continuous violations and restrictions on freedoms, in addition to the lack of support.
In 1993, the United Nations General Assembly declared the third of May of each year to be World Press Freedom Day, as an opportunity to celebrate and evaluate the basic principles of press freedom all over the world, to defend the media against attacks on their freedom, and to pay tribute to the journalists who They lost their lives in the line of duty.
Marei: Iraq has lost more than 500 journalists in various circumstances since 2003 (Iraqi Press)
Threats and violations
Regarding the most prominent obstacles to journalistic work in Iraq, Hadi Glo Marei, head of the Iraqi Observatory for Journalistic Freedoms, says that the Iraqi journalist has faced a number of challenges since 2003 until now, and there were very difficult stages that reached physical liquidation.
Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Marai confirms that Iraq has lost more than 500 journalists since 2003 in various circumstances due to many government violations and violations by foreign forces, in addition to the threats of extremist organizations, and things later turned into prosecutions, threats and intimidation.
Marai talks about other violations that affect journalists, such as confiscation of equipment, denial of coverage, destruction of their equipment such as cameras, taking video tapes, discrimination between one institution and another, arbitrary dismissal from work, late payment of salaries, refusal to pay their financial dues, and discrimination between employees. Bullying them, marginalizing the role of women journalists, and subjecting them to harassment within some institutions.
He notes that there are forms of violations linked to a lack of understanding of the role of journalists and the media, where television teams are usually prevented from working freely in the streets, and security personnel overtake them, as well as at some checkpoints without considering this as a systematic policy, and it is believed that it is an individual behavior that needs To the continuous follow-up of the responsible authorities.
The head of the Iraqi Observatory for Journalistic Freedoms attributes the reason for the continued escalation of violations, despite the passage of two decades since the change, to the unclear shape of the political system and the multiplicity of powers of influence. Indeed, more violations are taking place from various influential parties that take over the laws and the constitution, and this is a complex problem, in fact, for which no solution has been found so far.
Marei shows that the accumulated experiences, the acknowledgment of the fait accompli, the feeling of futility, and the insistence of some on practicing the policy of abuse and pressure made it difficult for the journalist to be very optimistic, and he had to practice his work in conditions he knows are complex.
He points out that these circumstances negatively affected, and limited the possibilities of accessing a distinguished product, but they were sometimes an incentive for many of them to innovate, and not to waste the few opportunities, despite the fact that the economic conditions are very bad, and do not bode well for good things.
Al-Kubaisi saw that the Iraqi journalist, as soon as he enters the press, becomes subject to threats and murder (Al-Jazeera Net)
Assassination and kidnapping
For his part, the journalist Muhammad al-Kubaisi says that it is known to everyone that Iraq, since the US invasion in 2003, has not enjoyed its people with security, and this includes journalists as well, but more, as once they entered the profession of journalism, they became subject to threats and killings.
He adds to Al Jazeera Net that journalists are also subjected to an unspoken threat from media owners to their employees not to be exposed to political figures in the country with whom they have work or kinship relations, and the danger to the journalist increases if the owner of a media outlet uses the journalist to strike other parties with the aim of blackmailing them financially. The journalist conveys the information.
He points out that the Iraqi journalist is threatened or kidnapped in order to intimidate him by armed parties linked to political parties. If he is deterred and silenced, he is left alone;
Otherwise, one chance is enough to end his media career and his life. For example, in 2020, gunmen assassinated Dijla channel correspondent Ahmed Abdel Samad and his cameraman, Safa Ghaly, because of a previous video of Ahmed, in which he spoke about the third party becoming known to everyone and must be held accountable, so silencing and restricting mouths Journalists are not limited to verbal threats, but also to murder.
He points out that Iraq is classified - according to Reporters Without Borders - the third most dangerous country for journalistic work, as the law cannot protect press workers from many dangers, most of which are brutal killings that are classified as messages to those trying to convey the voice of the Iraqi street.
Al-Kubaisi confirms that the killers of journalists are rarely held accountable, as they are attributed to unknown parties, and even if the perpetrator was arrested, the court would only hold him accountable without the party to which he belongs, as in the case of the killing of analyst and security expert Hisham al-Hashemi.
Al-Sanjari indicated that Iraq is witnessing the pursuit of journalists, activists and opinion writers (Al-Jazeera Net)
Suppression of freedoms
Parties and the political class have restricted freedom of opinion and expression in Iraq, and they have closed down many offices of satellite channels, and there is also a restriction on publishing operations, according to journalist and journalist Ziad Al-Sanjari.
Al-Sanjari adds to Al Jazeera Net, that in recent years the situation has become unbearable in Iraq, especially with the spread of armed groups, so many offices of satellite channels were closed just for a simple statement, as well as the prosecution of journalists, activists and opinion writers, and many journalists, writers and workers in the offices of satellite channels were displaced. in Iraq.
Sanjari believes that the main problem does not lie in the laws, but in their interpretation, and there are old laws that guarantee freedom of expression, including Article 38 of freedom of opinion and expression, which was approved in 2005, but has not been implemented to this day.
Al-Sanjari stresses the need for Iraq to educate the security, executive, and even judicial authorities and to clarify the role of the journalist and media figure that he is a mirror and an authority, and that he should take his freedom to express what is happening in Iraq.
Marcin believes that the most important forms of support that an Iraqi journalist needs is protection and freedom of expression (Al Jazeera Net)
lack of support
In turn, Marcin Al-Shammari, a researcher at the Center for Middle East Studies at Harvard University, says that the most important form of support that the Iraqi journalist needs is protection and ensuring freedom of expression and the ability to reach politicians and decision-makers to talk with them.
Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Al-Shammari stresses the importance of supporting the press in Iraq and alleviating the great suffering experienced by journalists in Iraq and in many countries of the world.
With regard to the financial situation, the media worker, Kifah Hassan, says that the capital controls the financier or founder of the media institution, and there is no government support except for the salaries of the employees of the Iraqi Media Network, which is considered under the umbrella of the state.
Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Kifah confirms that the majority of channels in Iraq are subject to parties and investors, so the support mechanism sometimes is either by using these channels to support a party figure or to support a particular party.
She notes that the Iraqi parliament has not legislated the law to protect journalists, which constitutes a major pillar for their protection, especially when we see what journalists and workers in this field are often subjected to as attacks and violations of rights, expressing her hope that the law will be passed during this parliamentary session.
As for the amount of support that the journalist receives in Iraq, Hassan explains that the issue of support for Iraqi journalists is relative, and depends on the imports of the media institution, but in general, the support and privileges in Iraq are very weak compared to the support that journalists receive in neighboring countries.