Baghdad (NINA) – Iraqi Journalists Syndicate demanded Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani to stop a "close” person to them for abusing the Syndicate.

The Syndicate said in a statement today that it "followed up on the abuses done by head of Al Mada Media Foundation, who was expelled from the records of the Syndicate, and who claims to be close to the Presidents Talabani and Barzani and whose violations and distortions of the facts continue and inciting against the Syndicate, its chairman, and the journalists by publishing fabricated stories."
The statement added "the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate is aware that presidents Talabani and Barzani would not accept any abuse against thousands of Iraqi journalists by a person who brags having military regiment and many official cars that are always near governmental offices to be near his HQ and which he obtained in different ways, as well as his attempts to pressure on governmental offices to blackmail them. Moreover, he threatened offices like the pressures over the Cabinet secretariat general asking them to give him some contracts and tenders concerning the Arab Summit to his foundation, which work is incompatible with the demands and that is what he confirmed in his newspaper."

The statement continued "the Syndicate and out of preserving the dignity of journalists, which was elected, under the supervision of the Supreme Judicial Council and the presence of Arab and international unions, will follow legal means against any abuse and will take punitive measures through the Iraqi judiciary to stop the series of abuses and distortion of image of democracy in Iraq followed by the chairman of Al Mada Foundation." /End/