Iraqi journalists syndicate condemns treatment of Basra reporters

Shafaq News- Basra

Security personnel guarding Iraq's Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair during his visit to Basra province confiscated press badges and barred reporters and photographers from covering the event, the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate said Friday.

The syndicate condemned the measures as illegal and said journalists in the southern oil province would boycott the Oil Ministry's activities in protest.

According to the syndicate, Fadel Hassan, the Basra correspondent for the Al-Ahd satellite channel, was subjected to abuses by the minister's security detail “while carrying out his professional duties.”

The seizure of the press badge from Hassan and from other correspondents and photographers, and their exclusion from the coverage, amounted to a clear violation of press freedom and of journalists' right to access information, the Syndicate said, calling the conduct a troubling pattern in the treatment of journalists.

The syndicate demanded a formal apology from the Oil Ministry, an urgent investigation, and accountability for those responsible. It also urged the Prime Minister's office and the ministry to issue strict instructions to all security and escort details to respect journalists and facilitate their work.

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