Following a phone call with Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, Pompeo tweeted that the US remained “supportive of media freedom in Iraq.”

The US Consulate General in Erbil followed up with its own tweet, saying it “joins Secretary Pompeo in supporting press freedom in the IKR (Iraqi Kurdistan Region).”

Coming amid a particularly egregious period of violations since the summer when the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) sought to restrict the free flow of information during protests in Erbil and Duhok and in Sulaimani respectively.

Dozens of journalists were arrested while covering the demonstrations. Several remain in custody in Erbil and Duhok, where they are being held by security forces affiliated with Barzani’s KDP.

The authorities have also continued their campaign of what the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called “endless harassment” against NRT. The channel, which covered the protests heavily, had its offices in Erbil and Duhok closed for two months in September and October and its Sulaimani headquarters raided and broadcast suspended for two weeks earlier this month.

In September during a visit to the region, US Ambassador to Iraq Matthew Tueller raised the issue with the full spectrum of political leaders, using social media to publicize that he had done so.

During a visit to Sulaimani on Monday, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert met with journalists and civil society activists about the recent violations.

Local and international watchdogs have repeatedly warned about the deteriorating situation.

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