CPJ, MENA Rights Group file Urgent Action to UN on disappearance of Syrian journalist in Iraqi Kurdistan

Syrian journalist Sleman Ahmed was arrested in October 2023 while entering Iraq’s Kurdistan Region from Syria, after visiting his family. Since then, his whereabouts have not been disclosed by authorities. (Photo: Courtesy of Sleman Ahmed family)

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the MENA Rights Group (MRG), filed an Urgent Action on April 12, 2024, to the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances, asking for the Iraqi Kurdish government to clarify the fate and whereabouts of Syrian journalist Sleman Ahmed, who was arrested in Iraqi Kurdistan on October 25, 2023.

Ahmed, who works with the PKK affiliated Iraqi Kurdish news outlet, RojNews, was arrested while entering the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, from Syria, after visiting his family. Since then, his whereabouts and the charges brought against him, if any, have not been disclosed by the authorities. The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by the US and its allies, including the Iraqi Kurdish government.

Ahmed is one of 3 journalists currently imprisoned in Iraqi Kurdistan, according to CPJ data.

More information about the submission is included here.