The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights’ report Voices Under Pressure tracks freedom of expression in Iraq since May 2026. It documents 18 broadcast bans, prosecutions of journalists and activists over published content, forcible dispersal of Kut protests, and a security raid on a civic meeting. It makes 16 recommendations to government, Parliament and the judiciary.
The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights (IOHR) has published Voices Under Pressure, a report on the state of freedom of expression in Iraq between 14 May and 31 October 2026, the period since the new government took office and adopted its 2026–2029 programme.
The report sets the government's stated commitments on human rights and civil society against what actually happened on the ground: broadcast bans, prosecutions over published content, and a security-led response to peaceful protests and civil society meetings.
Key findings include:
At least 18 orders barring journalists, analysts and public figures from appearing in the media, eight of them issued within just three days.
Iraq fell seven places in the World Press Freedom Index, to 162nd out of 180 countries.
Prison sentences and detentions of journalists, bloggers and activists over posts criticising public institutions.
Electricity protests in Kut dispersed by force, with protesters arrested.
Security forces entering a civil society meeting in Baghdad without producing a judicial warrant.
No published findings, more than eight months on, from the investigation into the killing of activist Yanar Mohammed.
The report concludes that the problem is not a lack of legal guarantees for free expression but the way they are applied. It sets out 16 practical recommendations to the government and security agencies, the Communications and Media Commission, Parliament and the judiciary, and proposes a six-monthly review against published benchmarks.
