ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The American ambassador to Iraq discussed press freedom in a meeting on Monday in Erbil with veteran Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is under fire from media watchdogs for recent arrests and harassment of journalists, and a widely condemned draft law regulating digital media.
Ambassador Matthew Tueller and Barzani discussed “the US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue, KRG’s ongoing budget negotiations with Baghdad, KDP-PUK relations and the importance of press freedom,” read a statement from the US consulate in Erbil. Barzani is the former president of the Kurdistan Region and leads the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
Barzani described their meeting as “constructive.”
Tueller also raised the issue in a later meeting with KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
A year ago, global media advocacy organization the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that press freedom was on the “brink of extinction” in the Kurdistan Region. In July and August this year alone, CPJ reported on at least seven incidents of authorities detaining or harassing journalists and closing media offices. Many of the incidents were against the Sulaimani-based NRT station, which was founded by businessman-turned-opposition political leader Shaswar Abdulwahid.
Another media watchdog, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), in April called for “an end to the wave of arrests and harassment of journalists under way in Iraqi Kurdistan since Covid-19 arrived in the region.” RSF recorded at least four journalists arrested in just one month.
Iraq has fallen six spots in RSF’s annual ranking of press freedom, from 156th out of 180 countries in 2019 to 162nd this year.
In August, the Kurdistan Region parliament shelved a draft bill on digital media that was widely condemned. Critics said the bill failed to distinguish between private, commercial, and journalist social media accounts when introducing fines for defamatory or threatening posts. The committee that drafted the bill will go back to the drawing board, holding with consultations with interested parties.
Under the Kurdistan Region’s press law, journalists cannot be arrested for doing their jobs. Courts often, however, use other laws to detain media workers.
Beyond press freedom, Tueller spoke of the "noted importance" the Kurdistan Region has among Washington policymakers, according to a statement from Barzani Headquarters.
“In the meeting, the US ambassador … emphasized the friendship between his country and the Kurdistan Region and stated that the Kurdistan Region is of noted importance in the decision making bodies in the United States," the statement said.
Tueller also said that Washington is also looking to "assist its friends in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region" to "resolve the problems and to empower the Iraqi State institutions”, according to the statement, amid often testy relations between Erbil and Baghdad.
Updated at 1:25 pm on September 15, 2020
