Security officer assaults, beats a journalist on duty

Shafaq News/ A security officer reportedly assaulted a journalist covering a huge fire at a hotel downtown the capital of the Kurdistan region, Erbil, earlier today, Saturday.

The Press Freedom Advocacy Association said in a statement that Zagros TV reporter, Mustafa Salam, was beaten by a security officer affiliated with the Asayish in Erbil.

"Salman was stupefied by a security officer attempting to snatch his mobile phone while videotaping the fire to send it to the channel," the statement said, "when he refused to surrender his phone, the infuriated officer attacked and beat the reporter."

The video shows Salman's clothes ripped as he tells his account of the encounter.

The association expressed "deep concerns" about the incident, urging the federal government to take serious measures against "the almost-daily violence and atrocities" journalists in the Kurdistan region have to deal with.

A huge fire broke out inside a restaurant at the Crystal Hotel in downtown Erbil this morning. The blazes that erupted in the Kitchen of the Top Organic Restaurant engulfed a sizable portion of the rooftop terrace and the entire cooking area. Still, the civil defense teams managed to douse the flames and prevent their expansion.