A Christian activist from the predominantly Christian area of Ankawa, Erbil, in the capital of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, has revealed that journalist Jinan Bolous, editor-in-chief of Beth Ankawa, a local newspaper, was recently threatened – setting a dangerous precedent in the volatile region.
“This threat came to the journalist in a text message sent by an unknown person via a mobile phone with a number of Asiacell Corporation about a month ago after she published an article in the newspaper,” the activist, who preferred anonymity, told Mideast Christian News.
The source added that the police are still investigating the matter related to the circumstances of the threat.
There have been calls to amend a number of paragraphs related to the laws that protect the rights of journalists in the region because activists insist that the current laws do not meet the most basic rights needed for the media to function, but rather hampers their movement and reduces the freedom of journalists to exercise free speech.