A correspondent of Nalia Radio and Television NRT and his assistant were arrested by security forces in Khalifan district of Soran autonomous administration of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region IKR for 15 hours and then released on condition that they work under the guidance of the Kurdish security forces (Asayish).
Karim Keifi and his colleague were arrested on September 5th at night while trying to cover the bombing of Tarawan village in Khalifan district several missiles, but a security force prevented them from coverage.
“We went to the scene to cover the missiles. When we approached, the security forces had set up a checkpoint in the area and did not allow us to go to the scene.”
"Two security vehicles came. The gunmen were wearing black and green uniforms and belonged to the Counter terrorism forces," Keifi said. "They didn't tell us what force they were."
“The force came and told me to stop coverage. They took my media equipment, including my camera, then took my personal mobile phone and car keys. They neither insulted me nor beat me.”
The force came and told me to stop coverage. They took my media equipment, including my camera, and then took my personal cell phone and car keys
After their arrest, Karim Keifi and his colleague Mohammed Farhan were transferred to Khalifan security office, from where they were taken to Soran security office the same night.
His colleague, Karim Keifi, who was assisting him is from the area but he is not a journalist. He has also been arrested.
“They put each of us in two separate small cells. There was a blanket and a mattress in the room. They were so old and dirty that I couldn't sleep. Cold air came into the room from a public air conditioner,” he recalls.
At 1:40 pm on September 6, Keifi and his colleague were taken back to the Khalifan security office and filled out an affidavit of pledge before being released.
“According to the pledge, which was made a condition for our release, I must act according to the instructions of the Asayish,” Keifi said.
According to the pledge, which was made a condition of our release, I must follow the instructions of the Asayish
According to the statistics of the Union of Journalists, 79 cases of violations against 187 journalists and media outlets were registered in 2021, but according to the report of the Metro Center for the Protection of Journalists' Rights, there were 353 cases of violations against 260 journalists and media outlets.
Despite Keifi's insistence that he was arrested by the Soran security forces, Dildar Muhajim, a senior officer of Soran security forces, said he was not arrested or detained by them.
"Karim Keyfi was not arrested or detained by us and I don't know who arrested him," the Asayish officer affirmed.
According to item four of the article seven of the Kurdish press law, it is the duty of the journalists’ union to facilitate access of journalists to news and information.
However, Ismail Ibrahim, head of the Soran office of the Kurdistan Union of Journalists, said they were aware of the arrest of the NRT reporter and attributed the reason for his arrest to "not covering the missile attack from the location assigned to them by the security forces."
Item four of the article seven of the Kurdish press law states, “Journalists have the right to attend public conferences and activities to convey information of interest for the public in accordance with law.”
