WASHINGTON, D.C. —
Voice of America journalists were beaten and harassed by authorities
in Pakistan and Iraq earlier this week. One of the journalists was a
reporter for VOA Deewa and the other for VOA Kurdish.
"I am appalled that these VOA journalists, who were only doing their
job of reporting accurate information, were beaten and harassed by
security forces,” VOA Director Amanda Bennett said. "Intimidation only
generates an opposite effect. VOA will not be deterred in its efforts to
seek out and share the truth.”
Naimatullah Sarhadi, a contributing reporter for VOA Deewa, was
attacked by local police Thursday night (May 12) at a checkpoint in the
town of Chaman in Balochistan province in Pakistan while returning home
from an assignment. When Sarhadi identified himself as a VOA reporter,
police severely beat him and broke his nose. A bystander eventually
convinced the authorities to leave Sarhadi alone. On Friday, local
journalists in Chaman demonstrated to condemn the violence. VOA Deewa is
the Voice of America’s popular Pashto language news service to the
volatile border region of Northwest Pakistan.
Zhiyar Muhamad, a contributing reporter for VOA Kurdish, also was
attacked on Thursday while covering a protest outside a mosque in the
city of Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan. A uniformed Kurdish Security
Forces (KSF) official demanded Muhamad’s camera and cell phone,
threatening to beat her if she did not comply. When she refused, the
official punched her in the head, breaking her glasses. Muhamad managed
to retain her equipment and continued to cover the protest as the
security official eventually was removed by other KSF members.
"The BBG calls on authorities in Pakistan, Iraq and elsewhere around
the globe to refrain from carrying out these types of aggressive acts,
which are only meant to silence independent journalism and freedom of
expression,” BBG CEO and Director John Lansing said. "Threats to the
free practice of journalism are a denial of basic human rights and must
not be supported by any government.”
ABOUT
VOA Deewa TV and radio provide news and information to the
critical Pakistan-Afghanistan border region, where more than 50 million
Pashtuns live. The region lacks local independent sources of information
on regional, international and U.S. news. Military narrative, jihadi
agenda and extremist groups are dominant in the state and private media
market. VOA Deewa also reaches this critical region via digital
platforms, direct-to-home satellite and the Internet.
VOA Kurdish reaches its audience on radio, television and the
Internet. In addition to shortwave and AM, the service’s programs are
broadcast by FM affiliates in several cities in Iraq, including Arbil,
Sulaimania, Kirkuk, Mosul, Baghdad and Basra. VOA Kurdish also produces
video reports that are streamed on its website. VOA programs are
intended for the more than 30 million Kurds living in the Middle East
and Eurasia, and the approximately one million Kurds in Europe and North
America.
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