On Oct. 9, an Iraqi journalist left Baghdad for Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, after hearing that his name was on a list prepared by the Iraqi government for the arrest of journalists and civil society activists.
“I had to travel to Erbil until things calm down,” the journalist, who appeared on satellite television, told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “The government is launching a tight crackdown and arresting anyone who wrote, supported and spoke about the protests.”