The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has expressed serious concerns over the recent decision by a Duhok misdemeanor court in Iraq to extend Kurdish journalist Omed Baroshky's imprisonment by an additional six months. This decision has reignited debates about the freedom of the press and human rights in the region.

Doja Daoud, CPJ's Levant program coordinator, criticized the ruling, stating, “Omed Baroshky has already faced retaliation for his reporting. We urge Iraqi Kurdish authorities to stop criminalizing the work of opposition journalists and ensure that they can operate without fear of reprisal.” Baroshky, a freelance journalist, is known for his critical stance against local governance and his investigative reports on corruption which have irked many in power in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The court’s decision to extend Baroshky’s imprisonment relates back to a previously suspended sentence from December 2021, which was reactivated after he reported on a Kurdish lawmaker’s breach of COVID-19 quarantine rules. The lawmaker, Mala Ihsan Rekani, subsequently sued Baroshky, leading to his sentencing under the controversial Misuse of Communication Devices law. This law has been criticized for its vague language, which critics argue has been used to suppress dissent and curb journalistic freedom under the guise of protecting public integrity and morals.

Human rights groups and legal experts have often pointed out that journalists in the Kurdistan region face severe violations of their rights, including arbitrary detentions and unfair trials. The vague wording of the Misuse of Communication Devices law, also known as Law 6, ostensibly aims to combat online harassment but in practice has been used to intimidate journalists and restrict their ability to report accurately.

This situation underscores a broader pattern of repression in a region where the two dominant political forces, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, have been accused of employing strategies to silence critical media voices. The international community, including bodies like Amnesty International and the United Nations, has repeatedly called for reforms to ensure the protection of journalists and uphold their right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

As Baroshky’s case gains international attention, it becomes a symbol of the ongoing struggle for press freedom in Iraqi Kurdistan and a test case for the application of international human rights standards in regional jurisdictions.