One year after Zoom stopped broadcasting; disagreements over management, staff separation and hacking of pages

According to KurdPress, Heyman Mahmoud, the director of Zoom TV network, announced that all of the network’s pages had been hacked at 2 am.

He wrote on his personal page that the official Zoom network page had previously been targeted by an electronic attack and deleted. Mahmoud also criticized the continued attacks, closures and destruction of its facilities, referring to the hacking of all of the network’s pages.Metro Center’s Position

Metro Center, meanwhile, issued a statement announcing that it had been aware of the details of this issue for several weeks.

Referring to a statement issued by a number of Zoom Network journalists, the center emphasized that the activities of these individuals in establishing a new media outlet or joining another media outlet were natural and wished them success.

At the same time, Metro Center described the seizure of the network’s studio, the destruction of equipment, and the failure to compensate for the damages as illegal actions and said that it preferred that Zoom employees be able to continue working freely in their media outlet.

The statement states that, according to Metro Center, Zoom Network did not ask its employees to sit next to the ruins of the studio that had been seized by armed men and whose broken equipment had become a warehouse for damaged journalistic equipment.The Metro Center also emphasized the need to restore the rule of law, freedom of journalism, and the rights of rights holders.

Statement by Journalists and Zoom Staff

On the other hand, a number of journalists, technical staff, and other key employees of the Zoom network announced in a statement addressed to the public, media centers, consulates, and international missions that after more than a year of stopping the network’s broadcast and being denied the right to continue their activities, they will no longer continue their cooperation with this media outlet.

The signatories of the statement emphasized that they did not participate in any political games, partisan conflicts, or interference and agendas of individuals affiliated with the intelligence apparatus by any specific party, and that their activities were solely within the framework of their professional journalistic duties and ethical and professional standards.They also claimed that after the Zoom network stopped broadcasting, it was possible to resume its activities, but personal interests and achievements were the basis for the decision. According to these employees, the director of the Zoom network, for whatever reason, did not want or was unable to use the opportunities available to resume broadcasting and return dozens of journalists and employees to their workplaces.

These journalists finally announced that they would no longer work on the Zoom network, and the director of the network could not comment on the defense of their rights. They also emphasized their right to continue their professional activities in other media or new projects.

The Zoom TV network, which operated as a media outlet of the People's Front and under the supervision of the Lahore Taliban, had previously faced restrictions during political and security disputes.The network's broadcasts were stopped about a year ago, and at one point, security forces took control of the Zoom office by visiting it; before the broadcasts were completely stopped, Rehman Gharib, the director of the Metro Center, had announced that security forces had raided the Zoom office and arrested one of the network's journalists. These developments continue a history of tension over media outlets associated with Lahore Talabani; including on July 8, 2021, when, at the height of the disputes between Bafel Talabani and Lahore Talabani, Patriotic Union forces took control of the building of the iPLUS TV network, owned by Lahore Talabani. Now, after more than a year of Zoom's broadcasts being stopped, a number of employees have announced the end of their cooperation with the network, and the Zoom manager has also announced that all of the network's pages have been hacked.