Because he had published a Facebook post critical of the northern Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s governing party KDP, police forces affiliated with the party sought him out and brutally beat up Karwan Haji Baadri.

Baadri, a journalist working for „Evro“ and „Denge Lalish“, had dared to criticize KDP officials’ machinations in his home town Baadre, which is located in Sheikhan region. He, however, did not mention any name.

Soon after the Facebook post had been published, KDP police forces appeared last Tuesday at his door and took him to the local police office.  When they arrived, the office manager offended him for his Facebook post and the security forces who had surrounded him began to beat him up, pushing him down and kicking on his head, Baadri stated. Baadri, covered in blood, had to be hospitalized after suffering a broken nose and bruises on his head.

He had denounced the KDP’s corruption on Facebook, accusing authorities of being responsible for the unemployment and ignoring local workers in favor of foreign companies.

Kurdish journalists have been frequently attacked in KDP-controlled areas, where critical journalists are often kidnapped and then found dead.

ezidiPress