“Our hearts are heavy and our spirits are crushed by the tragedy of the bloody Friday and the assassination of both women journalists Gulistan and Hero,” the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate said in a statement about the gathering.
Gulistan Tara and Hero Bahadin from Sterk TV were killed in a suspected Turkish drone strike near Said Sadiq, east of Sulaimani on Friday.
The attack has drawn criticism from Iraqi and Kurdish politicians.
The Iraqi parliament’s foreign affairs committee condemned the attack in a statement on Friday.
“We affirm that the targeting is an unjustified crime, a blatant violation of Iraq's sovereignty, and a breach of international laws and treaties, as it affects civilians. Journalists worldwide do not pose a threat to any party and all sides must respect press freedom,” read the statement.
The committee also condemned the “repeated attacks on Iraqi territory” and called on the federal government to take legal action and hold the perpetrators to account.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani said in a Facebook post: “The victims of the drone attack near Said Sadiq district were two female journalists, not members of an armed force that poses a threat to the security and stability of a country or region.”
Press freedom advocates also issued condemnations.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic August 23 drone strike that killed two journalists and injured a third in Iraqi Kurdistan,” said Yeganeh Rezaian, from the Committee to Protect Journalists. “Turkish authorities should swiftly investigate this attack and determine if the reporting team was targeted for their work.”
Metro Center for Journalists Rights and Advocacy and the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate said in a joint statement that the victims were journalists of media organizations licensed by the KRG.
In their statement, they condemned the strike as a “heinous crime” and called on the KRG and the federal government “to exert maximum efforts, whether through diplomatic means or other means available to the two governments, to pressure the Turkish government to prevent such violations committed by the Turkish army against journalists and civilians.”
Media affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have blamed Turkey for the attack, saying six people were injured, alongside the two journalists who were killed.
The Turkish defense ministry has yet to comment on the strike. Turkey frequently carries out air and drone strikes on alleged PKK positions in the Kurdistan Region.
Rudaw reporters were barred from joining the protest at Azadi Park by individuals who identified themselves as family members of the victims. The journalists syndicate said it was concerned about “the blocking of one channel among the two hundred that operate in this area.”
