Safiya Hadeel Al-Mawla is an Iraqi journalist and the director of Basra 365 Channel. In May 2025, Al-Mawla was subjected to a systematic cyberattack on social media aimed at defaming her and damaging her reputation, in clear violation of her civil and human rights, including freedom of expression and privacy. On 19 May 2025, she wrote on her Facebook page that political and media circles had circulated news of a lawsuit filed against her by MP Mustafa Sanad before the Third Criminal Court, describing the move as part of a broader pattern of escalating pressure on independent media voices. In the same post, Al-Mawla condemned the fierce online campaign led by Sanad’s supporters, who targeted her personally with sexist and degrading insults that sought to undermine her dignity and professionalism. She highlighted how this campaign reflected a repressive discourse that criminalises journalists instead of debating them and demonises women, particularly those in positions of influence in conservative regions such as southern Iraq. Al-Mawla reaffirmed that neither the lawsuit nor the online harassment would deter her or her channel from pursuing their mission of delivering independent, professional journalism committed to citizens’ right to information without fear or intimidation. Press reports also noted that, instead of defending her, the head of the Journalists Syndicate branch in Basra filed a separate lawsuit against her after she criticised the syndicate’s local administrative performance.