An officer assigned to the state-run North Oil Company threatened and hurled insults at Karwan Salehi, KirkukNow correspondent, and Ozheen Jola, Anadolu Agency correspondent on 20 January.
The officer, who was accompanied by a number of guards, “insulted, and pushed" the reporters and later threatened to break their cameras if they didn’t leave.
The incident took place while the journalists were covering a protest by university graduates in front of the company’s headquarters. The graduates were demanding to be hired.
This happened despite the fact that the journalists made clear that they were there to report and were not part of the protest. They also showed their press cards.
“The colonel and his guards told us that we were obstructing the entrance of the company, preventing cars from entering, and that they received orders from Baghdad to clear the area immediately. But we stressed that we were not part of the protest and were there only for reporting,” Karwan Salehi said.
All the officer’s guards were armed.
