Iraqi Commission to Restrict Media Coverage

[reprehensor]

Iraqi commission to restrict media coverage

Aug 06, 2004

Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has established a new media commission that will impose restrictions on print and broadcast media, the London-based Financial Times reported.

Media advocacy groups are worried that the committee will threaten press freedom in the war-torn country.

The Higher Media Commission will issue a set of restrictions – called "red lines – for Iraqi media. Ibrahim Janabi, who heads the new committee, said the restrictions are not yet final but will include unwarranted criticism of Prime Minister Allawi.

Media groups are criticizing the decision. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) sent an open letter to Allawi on July 29, saying the commission is a potential “threat to press freedom.” CPJ urged Janabi to to ensure that any actions of the Higher Media Commission comply with international standards of free expression.

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[thebigidea]

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