ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Bashdar Bazyani, a Kurdish journalist, was released on bail on Thursday, a month after he was arrested by Sulaimani’s local security forces (Asayish), an official confirmed to The New Region.

“Bashdar Bazyani was released on a bail of 1,000,000 dinars [$680],” Karwan Anwar, head of the Sulaimani branch of the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate, confirmed to The New Region.

Bazyani and three other friends—Dana Salih, Nabaz Sheikhani, and Sardasht Hama Salih—were arrested in late February during a night raid by Sulaimani security forces.

The four, led by Bazyani as Editor-in-Chief, had recently established an investigative media outlet by the name of Media 21. The friends have long been active opposition voices in the region, with Bazyani gaining notoriety for his investigative journalism regarding corruption cases.

The New Region previously reported that Bazyani was held in solitary confinement and beaten while in custody.

Sardasht, who was released a day after their arrest along with Dana and Nabaz, told The New Region that they were questioned in custody about a program they had shot but were yet to release.

The program was an interview with a relative of a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) official whose name The New Region is withholding for security reasons.

In a press conference following his release, Bazyani said, “We touched on some very sensitive topics, and we realized that they harmed national security,” adding that the program contained “sensitive and very specific matters.”

He apologized for any harm caused, denying that the group had any bad intentions and affirming a commitment to “high journalistic ethics.”

Bazyani had previously been called in for questioning by the police in early February on a case filed against him by a senior PUK official, but he was released on bail.

Though the Kurdistan Region has witnessed a significant decline in the number of violations against journalists and the press, the Metro Center for Journalists Rights and Advocacy watchdog has previously told The New Region that problems regarding freedom of the press still exist in Kurdistan.

“We are facing a new situation which is that violations have decreased in numbers, unlike previous years, but we cannot say we are in a perfect situation as the types of violations appear very strongly,” Director of Metro Rahman Gharib told The New Region.

According to Metro, there were more than 180 violations against journalists and media outlets in 2024, down from 250 in 2023.

The Kurdistan Region has previously faced criticism over the state of press freedom in the Region.