SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The security forces in Duhok prevented journalists from covering protests of families of activists detained in the province in 2020, Esta Media Network reporter said on Tuesday.
Families of activists who were detained over allegedly disrupting the Kurdistan Region’s security were tried to protest in Shiladze town on Tuesday.
Esta Media Network reporter Dilshad Himo and his cameraman were among the journalists prevented from entering the town at a checkpoint in Amedi, the reporter said.
“We were told that journalists are prohibited from entering Shiladze,” Himo quoted the security forces at the checkpoint as saying.
The Kurdish security forces detained dozens of journalists and activists in Duhok in 2020 over espionage and allegedly undermining national security in the Kurdistan Region.
In February 2021, Erbil criminal court sentenced journalists Sherwan Sherwani, Guhdar Zebari and Ayaz Karam as well as activists Shvan Omer and Hariwan Issa to six years in prison on national security charges.
