SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Lawyers and Judges gathered across the Kurdistan Region on Sunday and demanded justice for their fellow lawyer who had been recently kidnaped and subjected to severe torture.
52-year-old Mohammed Yaba who is a lawyer and member of the Kurdistan Bar Association was kidnapped by four gunmen in the city of Erbil last Friday. Yaba was subjected to severe torture and humiliation by the gunmen who also shaved Yaba’s head off.
Yaba on Saturday spoke to media outlets and said that he had been held captivated for hours by the gunmen, adding, the incident came after he had worked on a certain dossier between a married couple and he represented the woman.
Yaba blamed a man who is the husband of the woman for what he had faced.
Lawyers and judges gathered before all courts across Kurdistan, demanding to bring justice for the victim who also had been threatened by the gunmen to not file a lawsuit.
The gunmen have threatened the victim that if he files a lawsuit they will kill his family members, said Yaba’s brother.
So far, three suspects have been arrested in connection to the incident, however, the main suspects have not been arrested yet, a press conference on Sunday read by the Kurdistan Bar Association.
Speaking in a press briefing Omed Khoshanw, the governor of Erbil on Saturday vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice, saying such action by the gunmen is “unacceptable”.
Khoshnaw also stated that the words from Yaba and his family on the incident are not very “accurate”, they purportedly exaggerated in telling the story.
Yaba’s family alleged that the main suspect who is responsible for the incident is a high-ranking member of a certain political party, and so far he enjoys “impunity” in Erbil.
“The assault on the Erbil lawyer is an assault on the dignity of the entire family of justice,” said Deputy to the Kurdistan Region Justice Minster Shilan Arif.
The lawyer incident in Erbil drew public outcry. People slam the Kurdistan Region authorities for failing to promote the rule of law and provide a space where everyone is treated equally before the law. “People live in fear in Erbil,” Yaba said.
