Hundreds of students have demonstrated in Iraq's northern Kurdish region over the kidnap and murder of a Kurdish journalist, blaming the local government for his death, AP reported. Opposition politicians joined the students at Sulaimaniyah University to express their anger over the slaying of Sardasht Othman, who was found dead Thursday in Mosul. The Kurdish Regional Government issued a statement Saturday condemning his death and promising to bring his killers to justice. Othman was known for criticizing the government in his writings. International press freedom watchdogs have expressed concern that freedom of expression is being restricted in the self-rule Kurdish region. -- SPA
