JASANA Organization for Freedom of Expression and Media




 Jasana is a non-governmental, non-profit and independent organization established in (2020) and formally was registered at the NGO Department in (2021) in
Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Our Vision: a community in which freedom of expression is protected and
the journalists are able to work in an enabling environment

Our Mission: to defend the freedom of Expression and free media as well as
enhance the capacities of journalists

?Why Jasana

Freedom of expression and free press in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is in a dire situation as the authorities have violated the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly, including the suppression of freedom of expression on the Internet, the closure of the media, trials and arrests of civil society activists and political activists, especially the random arrests that accompanied the growing voice in Dohuk governorate following the delay in salaries which led to the poor living conditions of government employees in particular

The freedom of expression and free press in the Kurdistan region of Iraq (KR-I) are witnessing great fluctuations as it requires a strenuous effort from the Journalists’ Syndicate, media institutions and civil organizations to shed light on these violations and to urge the authorities, especially the security forces, to understand journalistic work and for the courts to deal with the Journalistic Work Law No. (35) of (2007) and not to sentence the journalists according to the Iraqi Penal Code which obstructs the process of justice in this area

It is also worth noting that there is a major flaw in the commitment to the ethics of journalistic work, which does not receive the attention of government agencies to provide the necessary support, through providing journalists with correct information which eventually leads to spreading rumors and false news.The founders of Jasana Organization have a long history in the field of journalism, as they worked in local and international newspapers and press as journalists or academics, and they have knowledge of Iraqi and international laws and regulations for the press and media, and they have close ties to regional and international press institutions and Iraq. Jasana Organization was established to fill the gap of an independent press institutions that advocates for journalists and their issues and rights in the Kurdistan region. Jasana Organization has an office in the city of Sulaymaniyah and has coordinators in Erbil and a number of cities in the region, enabling it to perform its role and work in an easy manner

Objectives of Jasana

• -To advocate for the freedom of expression, freedom of press and social media
• -Making efforts to improve the contains social media especially among the elites of media workers and intellectuals
• -To avoid gender discrimination against female in the media and social media as well as sectarian and ethnical media production
• -Advocate journalists’ cases despite their political beliefs or media entities they work for
• -Raising Awareness of journalists to protect themselves and their information against cyber and digital risks
• -Awareness raising of journalists about their occupational rights