BRUSSELS, Feb 6 (KUNA) -- The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) denounced Tuesday the multiple media freedom violations in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
The IFJ, in a press release, referred to the 2017 annual report of media freedom violations, published by the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate.
It noted that the report reveals the intensity of the rivalry between political parties and that incidents of violations against journalists and media organisations have increased.
"The IFJ condemns all the attacks documented by our affiliate against our colleagues in the region and urges the various parties to stop using the media in their political fights," commented IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger.
"Both the Kurdistan Regional Government and Iraqi central government must take immediate steps to show that they are serious about fighting impunity in the attacks against journalists in Iraq," he added.
Four journalists were killed in the region in 2017, 30 journalists were arrested, five were wounded, 39 suffered from physical attacks, 111 were restrained and 18 were threatened.
In addition, three media houses were burned down and 13 channels were shut down, said the IFJ.
The Brussels-based IFJ represents around 600,000 journalists in 146 countries worldwide. (end) nk.sd