Kurdish Journalist Omed Baroshky’s Prison Term Extended Amid Defamation Conviction

July 30, 2025 – Iraq – 

Freelance journalist Omed Baroshky, founder and director of Rast Media in Iraqi Kurdistan’s Duhok province, will remain imprisoned for an additional six months after a regional court reactivated a previously suspended sentence. The extension, announced on July 30, 2025, means he will now serve both the original sentence and the new term.

Baroshky had been serving a six-month term following a defamation conviction issued in January 2024 over a Facebook post alleging the kidnapping of a detainee from Zirka prison. His initial release was scheduled for July 31, 2025—but the sentencing court determined that the new conviction violated the conditions of a suspended December 2021 sentence, triggering its enforcement alongside the current sentence.

His lawyer, Reving Yaseen (also spelled Yaseen), explained that the 2021 case stemmed from allegations of defamation under the Misuse of Communication Devices law—charges linked to criticism of local officials. Although the sentence was suspended pending good behavior, the new conviction activated the suspension and added six more months to his term.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the ruling, calling for Baroshky’s immediate release and decrying the use of overlapping defamation charges as a tool to suppress dissent and press freedom in Iraqi Kurdistan. CPJ’s Levant program coordinator, Doja Daoud, described the practice as emblematic of a dangerous pattern targeting opposition journalists.

This is Baroshky’s third conviction in recent years. He previously served 18 months in prison between 2020 and 2022 on similar charges tied to social media posts critical of the Kurdistan Regional Government. During that period, his news outlet, Rast Media, was forcibly shut down by authorities.

Human rights organizations, including CPJ, Human Rights Watch, and UNAMI, have repeatedly criticized the protracted use of telecommunications and defamation laws to prosecute journalists like Baroshky. They argue these measures are systematically applied to restrict press freedom and punish government critics.

Baroshky’s case reflects a broader crackdown on independent media and civic activism in the Kurdistan Region since widespread protests erupted in 2020. Despite international appeals, he remains in Zirka prison, where journalist and activists reports document overcrowded conditions and limited legal access.

Reference – 

Kurdish journalist Omed Baroshky’s imprisonment extended by 6 months

https://kirkuknow.com/en/freePress/71231

Iraqi Kurdish Court Extends Journalist Omed Baroshky’s Prison Sentence by 1 Year