Objections and challenges to the first draft of the Press Law

The first draft of the new Kurdish Press Law was brought to the Kurdistan Parliament by the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate in 2007 and this was then approved by the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Kurdistan Parliament on 11

48 For a full listing of abuses committed against journalists in the Kurdistan region see http://www.cpj.org/news/ which alerts those in the profession and others to the problems being faced by media practitioners around the world.

49 See for example http://www.cpj.org/.

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December 2007. However, following review by the Kurdistan Region president, Masoud Barzanî, on 28 December 2007, the Law was sent back to Parliament for further discussion. The first draft proposed very harsh sanctions for contravention of the Law including fines of up to 20 million Iraqi Dinars⁵⁰ for any newspaper found to be supporting terrorism or inciting insecurity and fear. Fines were also mentioned for the harassment of individuals and religious sects. In addition, the first draft approved imprisonment for journalists perceived to have committed an offence. Moreover, the draft made provisions for stopping publication and closing journalists’

establishments. It also controlled the distribution of media channels. There were many objections from Kurdish journalists who thought the law was overly tough in many respects (Turkish Weekly, 2008). They were particularly concerned by the harsh sanctions proposed for journalists who published criticisms of the Kurdish authorities and therefore they rapidly put pressure on Kurdish authorities not to support the legislation by means of criticism and protests against the draft law (Ridolfo, 2007).

The first draft of the Press Law had both internal and external implications for the Kurdistan Region due to the potentially negative impact of its content on Kurdish civil liberties, since under its provisions, journalists could be prosecuted in counterterrorism courts, which could lead to the death penalty, and publications could be shut down for up to six months with accompanying fines of up to ten million Iraqi Dinars (or some 8,400 US dollars) (Cole, 2007).

Within the Kurdistan Region itself there was a great outcry against the draft Press Law among both the independent media and certain sectors of the pro-government media channels with media workers writing memoranda, publishing

50 About 16,800 US dollars.

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articles, making complaints, holding meetings, giving interviews, and generally making every possible effort to attempt to influence the Parliamentary Legal Committee, the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate and especially President Barzanî.

The Kurdistan Regional Government also faced pressure on it from outside Kurdistan to comply with calls for media freedom. When the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) found out about the situation which the Kurdish journalists were facing and the severity of the sanctions proposed in the draft law, it immediately contacted several Kurdish journalists, both independent and party-affiliated. The CPJ then spent a fortnight holding meetings and discussions with the aim of changing the draft so that these sanctions were less harsh and reflected the kind of sanctions typically imposed elsewhere. CPJ representatives also met with various officials to exchange opinions about the issues. Throughout the fortnight, the CPJ attempted to collect a range of opinions from journalists about their relation with the KRG. Some claimed that the Kurdish authorities had used arrests, beatings, confiscations, censorship of certain materials, abductions, seizure, and insults in order to control journalists. But other journalists argued that the government did have a right to intervene, suggesting that some of these measures were justified in certain circumstances (Sweeney, 2008).

The CPJ increased international pressure by sending a report of its controversial findings directly to the Kurdish authorities in May 2008. The report indicated that the Kurdish authorities had been using many different ways of dealing with and controlling journalists there and that in the first six months of 2008 there had been some 60 cases of killings, attacks, threats, and lawsuits against journalists in the Kurdistan Region, treatment which has been witnessed by independent journalists. In addition, the CPJ report contained evidence from journalists and

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workers in the independent media that media channels were controlled by the dominant political party (Sweeney, 2008). The report also maintained that the increasing assertiveness of the independent Press had triggered a spike in repression over the last three years, noting that the most forceful attacks had targeted those who had reported critically on President Barzanî, the Iraqi president Jalal Talabany, and other high-level officials. The CPJ also demanded that the Kurdistan Regional Government refused to pass a law that ‘stipulates prison penalties, bans news outlets, sets excessive fines, prescribes vague prohibitions and imposes professional requirements’ (Ḧeme Tahir, 2008a).

In response to a delegation from the CPJ in May 2008, President Barzanî commented that ‘it would be intolerable to have someone arrested in freedom of expression cases’. Further comment came from the spokesman for the KRG, Cemal

‘Abdulla who told the Institute for War and Peace Reporting that the authorities would ‘take the report seriously’. In addition he promised that the KRG would

‘organise awareness courses for security and police forces to teach them to behave in a civilised way with journalists and people’ (Ḧeme Tahir, 2008b).

Given that the first draft of the Press Law had prompted such serious objections and protests both inside and outside the region, the Kurdistan Region President sent it back to Parliament for further amendments. There was considerable discussion among members of Parliament and the Parliamentary Legal Committee, which has responsibility for scrutinising new laws. The focus of the discussion was on Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 and 10, which related to the following topics: the level of fines proposed as sanctions, the closure of publications, the need to balance freedom of expression with the interests of national security and public morals (see appendix 4.1).

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It was finally decided to approve the new amended version of the Press Law on 22 September 2008, in accordance with Decree Number 1 of the 2008 Kurdistan Parliament (Iraq Updates, 2008). It appeared a day later and the Kurdistan Parliament and Regional Government were proud of the new piece of legislation. Falakaddin Kakaee, Minister of Culture of the KRG, commented that: ‘The parliament opened a wider door to freedom and the chance granted to journalists must be used to rebuild the country’ (Iraq Updates, 2008). The Kurdistan Parliamentary President, ‘Adnan Muftî, acknowledged that journalists would be given further chances and opportunities to amend the law at a later date, if needed (Iraq Updates, 2008).

Shortly after the approval of the Press Law some journalists from Radio Nawa, seven newspapers and three magazines composed, wrote and signed a joint statement which was passed to the Kurdistan Parliament. The joint statement mentioned the clause about combating terrorism, and also indicated the need to

‘preserve the journalist's right to obtain information that concern citizens and public interest’. It also requested that ‘the journalist should be given the right to appeal to the public prosecution or the Special Court in order to investigate the relevant body if it refuses to provide the requested information’. Other points made included the demand that the controversial Article 6.2 be deleted. This article concerns the sanctions to be imposed on any publication which publishes false information and, under the terms of the legislation can, result in a fine as high as two million Iraqi Dinars (Iraqi Letter, 2008).

Kurdish journalists are happy with some sections of the new Press Law but still have criticisms and fears about a number of aspects, especially the sections related to freedom of expression (Article 9.1). Journalists have raised concerns about the list of areas which are prohibited and believe the legislation imposes undue

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restrictions on the publishing of articles on what may be legitimate concerns. Many also believe that the new Press Law does not provide sufficient support for journalists in the area of freedom of information.

The later sections of this chapter examine in more depth the range of opinions voiced by journalists, government representatives and academics when interviewed on the amended version of the Press Law.

On 6 October 2008, President Barzanî received an open letter from Joel Simon, the executive director of the CPJ in Washington, in which he made a number of comments relating to the dangerous circumstances in which journalists in the Kurdistan Region have to operate. Simon also provided Barzanî with another copy of the CPJ’s May 2008 report on the treatment of journalists in the region which had been compiled from documents provided by the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate. In the letter, Simon reminded the president that journalists were faced with: threats, the fear of being killed, beatings, abductions, shootings, harassment, confiscations, assassination attempts and repression. The CPJ also had evidence that Kurdish journalists have been arrested arbitrarily by security forces or have been harassed. In addition, insults like ‘traitor’ and ‘spy’ were sometimes used in reference to Kurdish journalists. Simon mentioned the case of Soran Mame Ḧeme, a reporter for Lvîn magazine, whose killing had been condemned by Barzanî’s office, according to Kurdish news reports, and he urged the President to condemn all threats and attacks on journalists and immediately launch a thorough public investigation to prosecute those responsible. Finally Simon made the point that journalists working under the

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threat of violence needed government assurance that all of the resources at its disposal would be used to ensure that they can carry out their work (Simon, 2008).⁵¹

Not all external comments were as negative of those of the CPJ. The Turkish Weekly (2008) was generally supportive of the Press Law, believing that the Kurdistan parliament had produced a piece of legislation which would not only help to protect Kurdish journalists’ rights, but also help to establish better professional relationships between journalists and the Kurdish authorities and their organisations, and help restore the confidence levels of the Kurdish people in media in the Kurdistan Region.