By NNN-KUNA
Baghdad : Iraqi press organizations and the Kurdish press lashed out on Saturday at a new press bill recently approved by the Iraq Kurdistan parliament.
They said that the new bill would impose huge restrictions on the freedom of the press and that journalists were more likely to face arrest and questioning.
The Press Freedom Observatory, an independent body based in Baghdad, rejected the bill approved by the Kurdistan parliament last Tuesday and which would be come into effect once ratified by the president of the province.
It also underlined reservations on certain items of the bill, among them the arrest and imprisonment of journalists in the province, closing down media institutions for six months and imposing exorbitant fines that could hit 20 Iraqi dinars.
The Observatory quoted its legal advisor as saying that the new bill, which forces journalists in Iraq Kurdistan to join the Kurdistan Journalists’ Syndicate (KJS), violated article 39 of the Iraqi constitution that banned forcing anyone to joint a certain political party or association.
According to the Observatory, the bill should have been initially presented in a general conference where journalist would have been able to read it in detail. Then the bill would be amended, in case of need, and offered for vote.
By the same token, a host of papers in the province issued a joint statement rejecting the bill.
They said that the new bill comprised items that threaten all newspapers and exposed journalists to trials, imprisonment and prosecution.
The Observatory urged the presidency to refer the bill again to the parliament to consider the items journalists sought to be included.