#WPFD Hassan Al-Aboudi: One of the most serious threats to journalists is harassment by government agencies

Hassan Al-Aboudi is deputy editor in chief of Al-zawrw newspaper in Iraq. He is a member of the Iraqi Journalists' Syndicate, head of the Press Freedom Committee and a member of Press Freedom Committee of the Federation of Arab Journalists. He has supervised safety training programs in Iraq in coordination with the IFJ.

Credit: IFJ Journalist Hassan Al-Aboudi

1) What is your biggest concern for press freedom in your country? 

 "One of the most important threats journalists are exposed to is harassment by government agencies due to a lack of understanding of the nature of journalistic and media work that requires the transmission of facts to the public, in a transparent and neutral manner and devoid of misinformation .

2) What are your daily challenges as a journalist?  

 "The most difficult challenge is producing investigative journalism focusing on corruptions, especially when investigations target government officials and other public offices' holders".  

3) What are the most important stories to cover right now? 

"In Iraq, there are three crises which are subjects of coverage and are intertwined. First, the demonstrations that started on 1st October 2019 and which are still ongoing, calling for improving services and living conditions and demanding the eradication of corruption of all kinds, which caused the resignation of the government. Then the formation of the new government. The third one is the coverage of the health crisis in Iraq due to the global pandemic of coronavirus".

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