Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, August 5, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iraqi authorities to free Al-Baghdadia TV’s director and presenter Ali Al-Dhabhawi, who was given a three-year jail sentence on Monday, and to reopen the satellite channel’s office in the capital Baghdad.
On July 31, security forces raided the Iraqi-owned station and Al-Dhabhawi’s home, a day after the journalist criticized the National Intelligence Service on his current affairs program “Al-Tasea.” It is the third outlet to be shuttered since March.
Six journalists were arrested in the raid, charged with “disturbing the authorities,” and released on bail on August 4, according two colleagues, who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal:
- Zain Laith – Video Editor
- Ali Hassan – News Anchor
- Ahmed Al-Sayer – News Editor
- Mustafa Hanoun – Video Editor
- Baraa Muhammad – Broadcast Engineer
- Raheem Al-Fartousi – Technical Operator
“The closure of Al-Baghdadia TV and the imprisonment of its director mark a deeply alarming escalation in the Iraqi government’s crackdown on independent media,” said Doja Daoud, CPJ’s Levant program coordinator. “Raiding newsrooms, arresting journalists, and using fishy criminal charges to silence dissent are unacceptable tactics. Iraqi authorities must allow journalists to work freely and without fear of reprisal.”
Videos showed that virtually all of the channel’s equipment was confiscated. Other employees have gone into hiding, the two journalists said.
Ameen Al-Dhabhawi, the jailed director’s nephew, told CPJ that the residential raid was “terrifying and violent,” and that officers seized documents and equipment, before transferring Al-Dhabhawi to the central city of Najaf, where he is from.
The journalist’s lawyer, Wahab Al-Janabi, told CPJ that his client was found guilty on August 4 under Articles 230 and 430 of the Penal Code.
“The charges claim he assaulted a police colonel and several officers in Najaf while they were on duty,” Al-Janabi said. “They also accuse him of threatening to kill a civilian at a medical complex, allegedly saying he was a journalist with wide influence who could do anything.”
Communications and Media Commission spokesperson Haider Nadhem told CPJ via messaging app that Al-Baghdadia TV did not have a broadcasting license but declined to provide further comment.
Al-Baghdadia TV, which is headquartered in Cairo, was also shuttered in 2016 and 2012.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.