Iraq journalists now face censorship laws

We know it's dangerous for journalists in Iraq, but this report is chilling. Aside from murders, beatings and intimidation, Iraqi journalists now face laws criminalising speech that ridicules the government or its officials. These laws - "some resurrected verbatim from Saddam Hussein's penal code" - are threatening the country's fragile grip on press freedom. Several journalists are serving time for doing their job. The office of prime minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki is now refusing to speak to news organisations that report on sectarian violence in ways that his government considers inflammatory. Some outlets have been shut down. I seem to recall we giving Iraq democracy. (Via New York Times)