Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, September 3, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iraqi Kurdish authorities to swiftly investigate the motive behind the shooting of journalist Hemn Mamand in Sulaymaniyah on Tuesday.

Mamand was shot while leaving a restaurant, hours after broadcasting his talk show “Sarinj – Comment” on Sterk TV, where he discusses human rights, including Turkish military operations in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region.

“Two men on a motorcycle opened fire on him before fleeing the scene,” his Sterk TV colleague Barham Latif, told CPJ. “The gunmen fired five shots. One bullet struck his arm, and shrapnel from another hit his abdomen.” 

“The targeted shooting of Mamand in the center of Sulaymaniyah appears to be an attempted assassination, and we are investigating whether it was connected with his political reporting,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Authorities must transparently investigate, hold the perpetrators accountable, and ensure that journalists are safe.” 

Sterk TV is funded by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been embroiled in a decades-long conflict with Turkey. It has been designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union. Iraq’s National Security Council banned the group in 2024.

In July, the PKK — which has long been targeted by Turkish forces in Iraq — began to lay down arms in Sulaymaniyah on the orders of PKK leader Abdullah Ojalan.

Hours after the September 2 shooting, Mamand posted on Facebook that he had “repeatedly asked” the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which governs Sulaymaniyah, “to provide me with protection because of the threats to my life over my work and activism against Turkey’s racist policies” — a reference to Turkey’s treatment of its Kurdish minority.

Mamand has participated in protests in Sulaymaniyah against Turkish military operations in Kurdistan, press freedom violations, and delays to civil service pay, according to CPJ research.

A person at the hospital, who declined to be named, citing fear of retaliation, told CPJ Mamand had undergone surgery and was stable.

Salam Abdulkhaliq, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region Security Agency, responsible for Sulaymaniyah’s security, told CPJ via messaging app on September 3 that no one had yet been arrested over Mamand’s shooting and “the investigation to locate the perpetrators is still ongoing.”