KRG's 9th cabinet turns its back on courts and turns to scenarios

Reports 11:12 PM - 2023-04-27

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In Masrour Barzani's cabinet, media decisions on crimes before judicial judgments and media serving as guides to foreign countries have become prevalent. The media has abandoned its sacred role of transmitting news and information and has turned into a spy. Worse, the prime minister personally supports the direction of his government's so-called media outlets, thus turning his back on the courts and fabricating scenarios to mislead public opinion.

The confidentiality investigation should not be disclosed

Legal Advisor Dr. Chia Zangana told PUKMEDIA: "According to the amended and applicable Iraqi Penal Principles Law in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, any statement, appearance on the screen, explanation, or disclosure of the suspect's or his agent's statements is illegal because it is investigation confidentiality." To avoid jeopardizing the investigation's confidentiality and distorting the facts, no investigation secrets should be released from the beginning of it until the final judgment is reached."

"Bringing the suspect to the screen and sometimes preparing a script for them is a crime because it is done with the intention of misleading public opinion, changing the facts, and is part of distorting social security and interfering in the affairs and independence of the courts," Zangana stated. "As a result, anyone who interferes with the work of the law has broken the law and should face prosecution."

In the yellow zone, the court is obedient to a party

The yellow zone court has lost its neutrality and caved to party pressure, causing a party to make decisions in this cabinet while the courts obey them.
 
Legal Advisor Zangana said: "The courts, especially in the yellow zone, have not been able to maintain their independence and have fallen under pressure from a party and a side of the government, so when people are accused, the court must evaluate the evidence very objectively, scientifically, away from public and emotional pressure, so that it can determine the guilty party and put the evidence in the investigation file and send it to the special prosecutor." "In the presence of all parties, the special court will declare an appropriate decision, examine the evidence, and confirm the allegations against the accused."

The Prime Minister is responsible for making the scenarios

Deciding on court cases and bringing the accused on TV in various scenarios is entirely against the law and media ethics. The Prime Minister bears the most responsibility in this regard.
 
Dr. Drivan Abdulqadir, a university lecturer and expert in media law and ethics, told PUKMEDIA, "Bringing the suspect on TV before a court decision is a violation of the court's dignity and a violation of journalistic law and ethics, and what is worse is that the Prime Minister of the 9th cabinet supports that himself and breaks the law by using the media for personal purposes."
 
"Making up scenarios and broadcasting the confessions of the accused before the court decision will lead to defamation, accusations, violations of the privacy rights of people, and spread unrest in the country, in addition to being an obstacle to the court," Dr. Abdulqadir added.

The media has become a spy

In the 9th cabinet, the government's media and social media are acting as spies for a party that wants to smear the media's spotless reputation in the Kurdistan Region and distract it from its mission.
 
Dr. Abdulqadir said: "The media has deviated from its sacred job of conveying information and news and now acts as a spy and has become a guide for foreign countries, in addition to being used for political conflicts."
 
Throughout this cabinet, there have been numerous instances where the official media has portrayed suspects as guilty before any court rulings on their cases. Meanwhile, international reports have warned the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) about the decline in the progress of media work and the threat it poses to freedom of expression and journalism. The government, however, disregards the reports and responds to them by inventing fictitious scenarios.

Experts and journalists in the media have voiced their disapproval of this cabinet's growing use of scenario planning and the media's role as spies for foreign countries, calling it an "ugly act" and urging the government to put an end to it.



PUKMEDIA