The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the murder, and CPJ’s Deputy Director Robert Mahoney stated: “We call on the authorities do everything in their power to track down Ahmed’s ýkillers and bring them to justice.”ý CPJ has documented an alarming number of cases of harassment, violence, disappearances, and the murders of several Kurdish journalists. According to its research, not one suspect has been prosecuted for killing or harassing these journalists.
Similar attacks on Iranian Kurdish journalists and human rights defenders have also been documented. Amnesty International has reported that the “deep-rooted discrimination” experienced by Iranian Kurds is proceeding unchecked, and noted that Kurdish human rights defenders, including community activists and journalists, face arbitrary arrest, mistreatment and prosecution. Amnesty cites the case of human rights activist and journalist Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand who was sentenced in June to eleven years in prison. Earlier this year, Kurdish ethnic rights defenders Farzad Kamangar, Ali Heydariyan and Farhad Vakili were sentenced to death, following what Amnesty called “a grossly flawed” judicial process.
Recently, Ms. Negin Shaykh Alaslami, a human rights activist, journalist, and former president of Cultural Association of Women of Azarmehr Kurdisatan, was arrested by the Security Forces and taken to an unknown location. Ms. Shaykh Alaslami has worked hard towards equality for women and is a well-known women´s rights activist in Iranian Kurdistan. The authorities have not disclosed the reason behind Ms. Shaykh Alaslami´s arrest. Ms. Shaykh Alaslami´s family, people in “Kurdistan” of Iran as well as many human rights activists in Iran including women´s rights activists are extremely concerned about her health and well being.
Both Amnesty International and the CPJ are calling on Iraqi and Iranian authorities to take measures to end the harassment, discrimination, and associated human rights violations against Kurdish journalists and human rights defenders.
For further information, see:
Committee to Protect Journalists
Amnesty International
http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGMDE130882008&lang=e
