Statements made by Qassem Nazzal, the commander of Basra Operations, in which he threatened to punish journalists who cover protests have spurred a wave of objections and criticism from activists and security officials.
The Iraqi Defense Ministry decided Thursday to close social media accounts of all units in the Iraqi Armed Forces.
The Iraqi Security Media Cell said in a statement that it respects journalists and institutions they work for according to legal and constitutional powers.
It also recommended all military leaders to abstain from making hasty media statements.
The cell called on journalists for coordinating exclusively with it in their media coverage for being the only authorized party.
Nazzal said in press statements on Wednesday that there are no spontaneous protests and they should get security permissions from Basra’s governor first. He added that any journalist in an unlicensed protest will be arrested.
Basra has witnessed a wave of protests in the past week to demand better services, criticize corruption and call for better job opportunities.
Federation of Journalists of Iraq, Journalistic Freedoms Observatory and Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq rejected Nazzal's statements.
Basra Governor Asaad al-Eidani apologized to all journalists. During his meeting with them on Thursday, he said that the statements of Nazzal have a military imprint and were not intended to offend the media.
Eidani called on everyone to put the statements behind them.
Iraqi High Commissioner for Human Rights Ali al-Bayati said no party has the right to prevent or isolate any media outlets, or deprive them from covering protests.
Bayati told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Iraq is a democratic country that guarantees the freedom of speech, assembly, and the media.
