December 3, 2025
The Coalition for the Defense of Freedom of Expression stands before you today at a critical moment for our country, as public freedoms—particularly freedom of expression and freedom of the press—are facing serious challenges that reveal an urgent need for substantial reforms in Iraq’s human rights and freedoms environment.
Over the past months, our Coalition has observed with deep concern an increasing reliance on laws inherited from previous eras, particularly provisions of the Penal Code enacted during the regime of Saddam Hussein, which are now being used as tools to pursue activists, journalists, content creators, and citizens expressing their opinions.
These provisions, originally designed to suppress and intimidate society, must not be employed in today’s Iraq—an Iraq that believes in the Constitution, justice, and fundamental rights.
We in the Coalition for the Defense of Freedom of Expression value the important role played by the Iraqi judiciary in protecting social peace, preserving public order, and preventing incitement and hate speech.
We reaffirm our confidence in the judiciary as the institution capable of ensuring proper conduct of public affairs and preventing violations of individual rights.
Therefore, we call upon the Supreme Judicial Council and all judicial institutions to continue their decisive role in safeguarding freedom of expression and to work toward ending the use of outdated Penal Code provisions that contradict the spirit of the Iraqi Constitution and modern human rights standards.
Our Coalition recognizes the sensitivity of the digital challenges the country faces today and the dangers posed by misinformation, which is sometimes used to defame, incite, or mislead public opinion.
We stand firmly against the dissemination of fabricated and misleading information, and we support fair and effective legal accountability for those who intentionally cause harm to others or to public order. However, such accountability must not become a pretext for restricting freedoms, limiting legitimate criticism, or targeting political opponents, activists, and journalists.
Our Message to the Authorities and Political Actors
The protection of freedom of expression is a constitutional right essential to the functioning of the state. Accordingly, the Coalition for the Defense of Freedom of Expression calls on official institutions and political forces to:
Reconsider the continued use of outdated laws enacted in undemocratic contexts and adopt more modern, rights-based legal approaches aligned with the Constitution.
Ensure that freedom of opinion and peaceful criticism is not restricted under any justification, while preventing the misuse or arbitrary interpretation of legal provisions.
Establish open communication channels with civil society organizations when discussing or developing legislation related to public freedoms.
The Coalition for the Defense of Freedom of Expression reaffirms its commitment to defending the right of Iraqis to speak, criticize, protest, and express their views without fear or intimidation.
At the same time, we stand against digital disorder and misinformation and call for holding accountable those who deliberately harm society—through fair, balanced, and rights-based legal measures that do not transform accountability into a tool for repression or political retaliation.
