Iraq: Women journalists ‘under the guillotine’ from media directors’ harassment
Survey finds 41% of women journalists have been victims of some form of harassment.
Surge in harassment of journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan
Around 20 journalists have been arrested since the start of 2023.
Iraqi authorities must cease their chilling crackdown on free speech
In a joint statement, rights groups denounce Iraqi crackdown on ‘indecent content’ online as a threat to free speech.
Digital targeting and its offline consequences for LGBTQI+ people in MENA
A new report examines how several authorities in the region have integrated technology into their policing of LGBTQI+ people.
Iraq’s new platform to combat “indecent content” sparks censorship fears
Critics warn government platform for reporting social media content violating public morals could infringe on freedom of expression.
Iraq: No justice for protester deaths
Government promises to hold perpetrators responsible for the vicious violence against peaceful protesters remain unfulfilled.
Iraq: Cybercrime Draft Law in suspension?
Reintroduced legislation would give authorities the right to monitor and prosecute citizens for their social media posts and suppress free expression, reports Social Media Exchange (SMEX).
Iraq: Gender-based violence workshop in Basra stormed by National Security Service forces
GCHR calls on authorities to stop the serious violations targeting the peaceful and legitimate work of civil society organizations in the province.
“They will not shoot down our dream”: Challenges faced by human rights defenders in Iraq
New report examines the increasingly hostile environment for human rights defenders and activists following Iraq’s October 2019 demonstrations.
Iraq: Activists tortured in some of the ‘most horrific prisons in the world’
A new report by the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) documents how in the absence of effective legal mechanisms holding perpetrators accountable, Iraqi civil society activists continue to face torture in detention.
Justice for Iraq’s murdered and forcibly disappeared voices
Since the start of anti-government protests in October 2019, dozens of Iraqi activists, journalists, and civil society members have been killed or forcibly disappeared, while their perpetrators roam free. To mark this year’s International Human Rights Day, rights groups call for an end to impunity, and the release of those arbitrarily held for their free speech or peaceful assembly.
Iraq: Vague cybercrime bill threatens free expression
According to Human Rights Watch, a cybercrimes bill being considered by Iraqi parliament could be used to stifle free expression, giving authorities yet another tool to suppress dissent in an already shrinking civic space.
Iraq: Women activists and children targeted on the protest front lines
The Gulf Centre for Human Rights calls on Iraqi authorities to stop targeting peaceful demonstrators, especially women and children who have been playing a prominent role in anti-government protests.
How anti-government protesters in Iraq are being kidnapped and assassinated
GCHR says peaceful protesters, civil society activists and human rights defenders in Iraq are increasingly being kidnapped, tortured and assassinated for their participation in ongoing anti-government protests.