Authorities to return control of Zoom TV linked to Lahur Talabany

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Control of Zoom, a media channel linked to Lahur Talabany that was forcibly seized after his August 22 arrest, will be returned to its director, a media watchdog said Friday.

 

“We have reached an agreement with Mr. Qubad [Talabani] and they will hand Zoom channel back to its director,” Diyari Mohammed, director of Metro Center for Journalists Rights and Advocacy, told Rudaw. “It will be handed back to them at the earliest time.”

 

Qubad Talabani is the deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan Region and a senior member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the ruling party in Sulaimani.

 

Lahur Talabany, leader of the opposition party Baray Gal (People’s Front), was arrested last Friday after hours of armed clashes between Sulaimani security forces and his supporters. That same day, security forces raided the offices of Zoom and seized control of the facility.

 

“A promise has been given to hand it back to us and we are awaiting practical steps,” Hemin Mahmoud, director of the channel, told Rudaw.

 

According to Metro Center, Zoom was established in February 2022 and is licensed by both the Communications and Media Commission of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government. The channel began broadcasting on June 25, 2024, and employs more than 200 people. It has its headquarters in Sulaimani and offices in Erbil and Baghdad.