ERBIL, Iraq — Despite the bright picture of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region seen by outsiders, it is in a crisis of free expression. While Western leaders often praise its stability, relative prosperity and democratic institutions, the region — soon to hold a referendum on independence — is not a friendly place for independent-minded media workers and local journalists. US support for Kurdish politicians and soldiers battling the Islamic State (IS) may be inadvertently facilitating a further crackdown on critical voices and a growing authoritarianism.

"First they try to bribe you," said Sherwan Sherwani, a Kurdish journalist, of Kurdish authorities dissatisfied with independent reporting. Sherwani’s magazine, Bashur, had been digging up the dirty pasts of local politicians for several years, and authorities have had enough.

To buy his silence, Sherwani had been approached by the Parastin, the secret police organization of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), in late 2013. "They said, 'You can have the directorship of an organization, and bring 200 friends with you,'" said Sherwan. He refused the offer, and then the threats began.

In July 2016, a friend in parliament called Sherwani to let him know that an assassination was being plotted against him. This was the only way, Sherwani said, that he was able to avoid death.