Thursday, 13 May, 2021 - 06:00
OCHA/Charlotte Cans. People pray in Erbil, the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Baghdad - Asharq Al-Awsat
Freedom of expression in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has been increasingly curtailed over the past year, according to a UN report issued Wednesday.
The report documents a concerning pattern, observed from March 2020 to April 2021.
“The pattern of repression documented in this report is deeply worrying, it read.
The report came a week after an appeals court upheld six-year jail sentences for five journalists and activists.
It said 33 journalists, activists, or human rights defenders had been arrested without being told why, denied access to lawyers or held without their families being informed.
Iraq: Kurdish authorities criticised for upholding sentences against journalists and activists middleeasteye.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from middleeasteye.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.