Iraqi Media Workers Face Grim Toll as 100 Reporters Killed in Past Decade

November 03, 2025 – Iraq – 

A newly published report by the Nexîl Center for Journalist Rights and Freedoms reveals that at least 100 journalists in Iraq have been killed over the last ten years, underscoring the extreme dangers that media workers confront in the country. The study notes that among those fatalities, 30 occurred during the mass protest movement known as the Tishrin protests, yet none of the perpetrators have been publicly held to account.

The Tishrin protests, referenced in the report, saw hundreds of Iraqi citizens killed and thousands wounded. In that mix of unrest and security crackdowns, local reporters working to document events found themselves in the crosshairs of violence. The Nexîl Centre’s findings highlight how the killings of these journalists went uninvestigated, fostering an environment of impunity and fear for Iraqi media professionals.

Even outside the protest context, Iraq has long been one of the most perilous places in the world for journalists. Decades of conflict, insurgency, and political violence have turned reporting into a high-risk endeavour. The latest report suggests that the past decade did not see any meaningful reduction in threats to the press, but rather a continuing toll of death and silence.

Media rights advocates argue that this pattern of killings with no accountability undermines the public’s right to information and hinders independent coverage of conflict, governance, and human-rights issues in Iraq. With so many journalists lost and so few investigations pursued, observers warn the profession faces further erosion of protections and morale. The Nexîl Centre calls on Iraqi authorities to open transparent investigations into each death, bring responsible actors to justice, and implement measures to protect better journalists working under threat.

This grim milestone of 100 journalist deaths over ten years serves as a critical reminder of the human cost of public-interest reporting in high-risk contexts. As Iraq continues to confront political and security turbulence, the safety of media workers remains a vital component of the country’s progress toward accountability, effective governance, and free expression. Unless decisive action is taken, the vacuum created by the loss of those journalists may undermine both press freedom and the broader democratic process in Iraq.

Reference – 

https://english.anf-news.com/freedom-of-the-press/100-journalists-have-been-killed-in-iraq-over-the-past-10-years-82047