Metro, Sulaimani: Rudolph Richard, Deputy Consul General of France, said "we take the issues of freedom of press, expression and information seriously”, "I have come to learn more about your work, and it is important for me to know you”.

On Monday, August 19, 2024, Rudolph Richard, Deputy Consul General of France in the Kurdistan Region, visited the Metro Center, where he was warmly welcomed by its team.

At the beginning of the meeting, the French Deputy Consul General expressed his pleasure for the meeting and said, "I have come to become more familiar with your work in monitoring freedom of the press and expression, opportunities and obstacles facing them.

 My government attaches great importance to human rights, including the right to freedom of the press, information, expression, and the work of journalists.”

In the two-hour meeting, Metro’s team focused on the most significant obstacles to the implementation of journalism, information and demonstration laws, hate speech before the election campaign, defamation and cyber-attacks on women candidates, civil space and the role of organizations, political money and its role in spreading hate speech and the role of the authorities in paving the way for extremist thought, bills in the Iraqi parliament, impunity and several other issues.

Finally, Rudolph Richard, Deputy Consul General of France, thanked Metro’s team and promised to continue and strengthen the relationship and coordination between Metro and the consulate team.