Journalists doing their job of covering events in any country must be protected and allowed to report freely and safely - the protests in Iraq included. 

Three journalists with Al Mayadeen news broadcaster were injured while they were covering the protests in Baghdad’s Green Zone.

Security personnel threw flash-bang grenades at Al Mayadeen videographer Zaid Khaled Jomaa and reporter and Baghdad bureau head Abdullah Badran. In another instance, riot police troops pushed videographer Abdullah Saad to the ground, resulting in an injury to his ankle and leg, according to the journalists.

“Iraqi authorities must protect journalists covering protests in Baghdad and allow them to report on the political situation in the country freely and safely,” said CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa senior researcher, Justin Shilad, in New York. “Iraqi journalists have been doing essential work in adverse circumstances for years informing the public, and authorities must allow them to continue that work without fear.” 

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Press reports indicated that Sadr supporters occupied the parliament building on July 27 and July 30, and on Monday, they announced plans for larger rallies throughout Iraq.

According to the journalists and video of the incident, Al Mayadeen team was covering protesters' attempt to enter parliament on Saturday when security forces fired flash-bang grenades in an attempt to disperse the demonstrations; one of those grenades hit Badran in the back, and another hit Jomaa in the left leg.

Saad told CPJ that he rushed to rescue his coworkers but was stopped and forced to the ground by riot police officers.

Badran and Jomaa told CPJ that they were bruised by the grenades and that the projectiles had ricocheted off a concrete wall, reducing their force. When he was shoved to the ground, Saad injured his ankle and tore a ligament in his leg, according to a tweet by one of his colleagues.

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They reported that all three journalists were transferred to Baghdad's Al-Karama hospital following the incident. 

According to Badran, the crew was identified as reporters; in the footage, he can be seen holding a microphone as he was hit with the bomb. He went on to say that he and Jomaa took shelter when the police started shooting tear gas, flash-bang grenades, and water hoses at demonstrators, “but the officers were shooting from a very close range that we couldn’t escape being hit.”

The three journalists told CPJ that they frequently encountered such hazards while reporting and that Iraqi security forces frequently failed to discriminate between journalists and protestors.

CPJ reached out to the Iraqi Ministry of Interior for comment but did not receive a response.

Reporters Without Borders

On its part, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urged Iraqi authorities and the public to respect journalistic freedoms after reporters were attacked while covering the takeover of the Iraqi parliament by supporters of Iraq's largest bloc.

“In times of political instability and social unrest, the media should not be targeted or become the focus of popular anger,” said Sabrina Bennoui, the head of RSF’s Middle East desk. “We urge the authorities and civil society to be vigilant about the need to respect press freedom and journalists’ safety.”

Protesters closed the Alforat TV bureau in the southern city of Basra on July 29 in reaction to statements by its owner, Ammar Al-Hakim, regarded as hostile by Al-Sadr supporters. While broadcasting live in Baghdad on July 30, Al Mayadeen TV crew members Abdullah Badran, Zaid Khaled, and Abdullah Saad were injured by a stun grenade thrown by riot police seeking to disperse protesters trying to enter the Green Zone.

“I cannot confirm that we were deliberately targeted, but the grenades and teargas should have been fired lower down, as we saw it done during our coverage of previous protests,” RSF was told by Badran, who sustained a thigh injury. As Saad tried to get away, he was harassed and pushed by someone, falling to the ground and twisting an ankle. Doctors diagnosed a sprain.

According to the news outlet, journalists are frequently prohibited from doing their jobs against the backdrop of this grave political crisis. In another instance, an Al-Iraqiya TV team was surrounded by demonstrators in the Green Zone and prevented from shooting.

One of the demonstrators instructs Ahmad Aram and Ahmad Majed to stop filming in a video supplied to RSF by the Press Freedom Advocacy Association, an Iraqi NGO because their TV program is affiliated with the government.

If state authorities fail to protect the press, who will protect the voices of freedom? A number of crews were injured today and many more will be targeted in the future as long as states don't take real action to this end.