Anne Salah
A TV presenter links the suspension of her program on state TV to her criticism of fuel price hikes
BAGHDAD– Anne Salah, a TV presenter, announced the suspension of her program, Jilga, on the state broadcaster, Al-Iraqiya channel, linking the suspension to her criticism of fuel price hikes.
Al-Iraqiya is part of the Iraqi Media Network that is regulated by law. The law stipulates it as an independent body with objectives including “encouraging citizen participation in the democratic political process, including objective criticism of the government and parliament’s performance.” Yet, the network has not commented on Anne Salah’s statements so far.
Ahmed al-Sheikh Majid, a writer and journalist, said that the parliament’s amendment to Article 226 of Iraqi Panel Code, ‘Public insult of the national assembly or the government or the court or the armed forces’, has left it broad and susceptible to being used to penalize any journalist who expresses a dissenting opinion.
Majid said that the country is experiencing an “unprecedented decline in freedom of expression” after the blocking of Iraqi and Arab journalistic websites, stating, “This is the worst phase. we used to fear weapons outside of power, and now we fear both weapons and power.”
Anne Salah reported her program’s cessation and her screen presence being blocked by the network’s new head Karim Hammadi, transferring her to radio instead. This action, she claims, was in response to an Instagram story post criticizing fuel price increases.
Majid, in an interview with local media mentioned, “Two hours ago, Anne Salah’s program on Al-Iraqiya channel was blocked after she posted criticizing the price hike, stating ‘prices cannot be raised just to build some bridges,’ leading to her program being blocked.”
“Did Anne Salah insult the Prime Minister or the head of the Iraqi Media Network, funded by the Iraqi people’s money? This makes the salary given to media personnel at the network seem like charity, as soon as you have a critique, your program gets blocked!”
“As a media person on the state channel, when you go out to the streets and witness certain situations, is there anything preventing you from conveying people’s opinions?” he wondered.
“Now, there is suppression and restriction on anything indicating weakness, corruption, or any abnormal situation in the government, even if the written or visual material is professional, the moment you ask or present certain documents, restrictions are imposed on you,” Majid added.
Regarding the amendment to Article 226, he said “what does freedom of expression mean within it? The article punishes ‘whoever insults in public any parliamentary bodies, official departments, local governments, the region.. etc.’, meaning you can speak within the framework of freedom of expression but only to ‘express grievances and evaluate performance.’ How do authorities interpret performance evaluation, and what does freedom of expression mean to the Iraqi regime? Since these things are subject to interpretations and readings, they can be wielded like a sword against people. It’s broad, and we’re stuck with the legacy of Saddam Hussein and his methods. Indeed, the political system, especially in this era, opposes Saddam Hussein but governs with his mentality.”
“This is the worst period for freedoms in Iraq. Currently, ‘Shabaka Al-Hudood,’ one of the most famous Arab satirical networks, is blocked in authoritarian countries and was recently blocked in Iraq, reflecting the general atmosphere. As for the internal environment in journalistic institutions, our colleagues, just for writing a tweet or a post, will have their institution contacted!” he concluded.