More than a thousand protesters rally in northern Iraq against killing of Kurdish reporter

Protesters want justice for dead Kurdish reporter

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq — More than a thousand people have staged a protest in a northern Iraq city, demanding justice for the death of a Kurdish journalist whose body was found last week.

Throngs of protesters waving banners and holding up pictures of 23-year-old Sardasht Othman crowded the streets Wednesday in the city of Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region.

Othman was snatched last week in front of a university campus in the city of Irbil. His body was found four days later.

In a series of growing protests since Othman’s death, demonstrators have blamed the killing on the regional government and portrayed it as a way to silence the media.

International press watchdog groups have expressed concern over restrictions placed on journalists.

Authorities reject accusations of involvement in Othman’s death.