Farrell writes that “when the news turns bad, the police and other security forces do their best to make sure there is no one around to record it.” (AP)
Farrell writes that “when the news turns bad, the police and other security forces do their best to make sure there is no one around to record it.” (AP)

A distorted picture from Iraq

The Iraqi government is keeping photographers away from scenes of suicide attacks, according to a piece published today by Stephen Farrell on The New York Times’ “At War” blog. CPJ has objected to government regulations promulgated in May 2007 barring photographers from the scene of such bombings for an hour after they take place.

As Farrell writes, the government is using threats and sometimes violence to enforce the ban. The result is that we are not seeing the full reality from Iraq, and journalists are unable to do their jobs.

The entry is here.