Citation

Battaglia LS. Index Censors. 2016; 45(2): 18-21.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0306422016657012

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Freelance Iraqi journalists are experiencing a situation which is far worse than that of European and North American freelancers, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. As the Rory Peck Trust, which supports freelance journalists, said that locally based journalists were facing by far the largest number of threats and the vast majority of murders, imprisonments and abductions. The organisation is calling on governments, combatants and groups worldwide to respect the neutrality of journalists and immediately end the cycle of impunity.

International organisations surely have a duty to provide safety training to Iraqi journalists and activists in danger zones. The key to encouraging press freedom in one of the most corrupt states in the Middle East, according to Transparency International, is supporting activists and journalists who want to be independent from political parties or sectarian interests.

Language: en