Iraq: Urgent Need for Free Speech Protection

Click to expand Image A woman holds up a banner during an anti-government protest in Baghdad in February 2020 saying "The pen is our weapon, the book is our shield, the thought is our power."  (c) 2020 REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani A spike in violations of the right to free expression during widespread protests at the end of the former government’s term in office and during the Covid-19 pandemic underscores the need for Iraq’s new government to reform its laws, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Iraqi authorities, including in the Kurdistan Region, have routinely used vaguely…

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