Following the fall of the dictatorial regime, Iraq is still at the top of the list of states whose journalists, media figures and other social activists are exposed to abuse and persecution.
According to the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO), the first two years following the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq (2012 - 2013) were the worst since the fall of the former regime in terms of violations of press freedoms.
According to a report by the JFO, Iraq has recorded 259 cases of murder of Iraqi and foreign media activists in the last 10 years. Furthermore, 64 activists were abducted, most of whom were killed, while 14 of them are still missing. The perpetrators of these crimes have still not been revealed, given that the crimes were all committed under mysterious circumstances. These violations were neither legally nor politically pursued.
Civilian activists in Iraq are divided into two main categories: governmental and non-governmental. The second category faces a very serious risk. It is targeted by government forces, militias and terrorist organizations all at once. Moreover, the government does not feel responsible for them and abstains from providing them with a minimum level of protection. The Iraqi government continuously passes laws against civil liberties related to social activists through a number of institutions that are concerned with this matter.
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