On Monday, the 11th of January 2016 at 13:00 p.m., Mr. Ali Mohammed Qader, lecturer at the Department of History, presented a seminar about Freedom of the Press in Iraq Between 1869 and 1926 at the Seminar Hall of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Zakho. In his seminar, Mr. Ali Mohammed Qader mentioned the newspaper Al-Zawra which was published in Baghdad by the then Ottoman Governor of Iraq Midhat Pasha. This newspaper was published in the Ottoman language and Arabic language and was a state-loyal newspaper for 49 years. Furthermore the development of press freedom was discussed, noting the adoption of a law by the Ottoman Empire in 1909, to regulate and monitor the activities of the press. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the foundation of Iraq under a British mandate many newspapers came up in Iraq, which were published mainly in Arabic but also in English. As a result, the situation of press freedom was improving during this time. After the presentation by Mr. Ali Mohammed Qader, constructive debates were conducted between the presenter and the participants, including lecturers and students from the Department of History.

translated by Mr. Dilan Nader Abdulqader