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Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament Passes Softer
Media Law
23.9.2008
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September
23, 2008
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region "Iraq", —
Iraq's largely autonomous northern Kurdistan region
has passed a modified media law aimed at protecting
journalists' rights, abolishing jail terms for
offences such as defamation, parliamentary deputies
said on Tuesday.
An earlier version of the law passed by parliament
last December carried tough sanctions for
journalists including imprisonment,www.ekurd.net
fines of up to 10
million Iraqi dinar ($8,400) and the closure of
publications.
After a widespread public outcry, the president of
the Kurdistan Regional Government, Massoud Barzani,
rejected the law and sent it back to parliament.
The new law excluded jail sentences for journalists
carrying out their duties and reduced fines that
could be levied.
"Even the item that closed a newspaper was deleted,"
Qadir Saeed, a legislator, told Reuters.
The law was passed late on Monday.
Kurdistan enjoys good security in comparison with
other parts of Iraq.
Still, about 60 Kurdish journalists were killed,
threatened, attacked or taken to court in the first
half of 2008, says the New York-based Committee to
Protect Journalists (CPJ).
In the past few years, many other Kurdish
journalists have been beaten, jailed, threatened
with death or intimidated.
CPJ and Amnesty International have launched
campaigns to draw attention to such events and
pressured Kurdish authorities to hold those who are
threatening journalists to account.
Adnan al-Mufti,www.ekurd.net
the speaker of
Kurdistan's parliament, praised the law, as did a
local journalists' organisation.
"The amendments in the law increase the freedoms and
remove the punishments. It meets the demands of
journalists," he said.
Iraq, which witnessed significant growth in the
media after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, is the most
dangerous place in the world for journalists to
work.
About 130 journalists and 50 media assistants have
been killed in Iraq since 2003, according to the CPJ.
(Writing by Aseel Kami, Editing by Dean Yates and
Ralph Boulton)
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
Reuters
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