SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) on Sunday slammed the Erbil court verdict, which sentenced journalist Sherwan Sherwani to additional four years in jail.
“The verdict has no legal basis,” the KCK said in a statement, adding, “This is a dangerous sign of backsliding the rights and liberties in the Kurdistan Region.”
In the meantime, the KCK slammed the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) for exploiting the Region’s judiciary system, according to the statement.
“The KDP uses the judiciary authority to impose injustice, as well as imposes unilateral and autocratic decisions on the courts,” the statement said.
It also accused the KDP of imprisoning the free individuals on baseless charges.
“Sherwani and his colleagues are political prisoners in the hand of a partisan authority for the sake of imposing family politics on the Kurdish society in Bashur,” the statement added.
KCK also called on all Kurdish political parties to be united and strengthen the Kurdistan community before the developments.
“As a result, it’s the duty of the Kurdistan Region authority to respect the rights and basic liberties.”
The Community Peacemaker (CPT) organization also on Saturday labeled the Kurdistan Region “unsafe” for activists and journalists.
“Iraqi Kurdistan is not a safe place for activists and journalists to speak out against injustice,” the Iraqi-Kurdistan team of CPT said.
CPT’s words were aslo a response to the controversial verdict which has been issued against Sherwani.
Sherwani has been accused of violating Articles 295 and 298 of the Iraqi Penal Code.
He has allegedly falsified a document by signing it on behalf of fellow imprisoned journalist Ghudar Zebari without permission.
Sherwani was already imprisoned for charges that were widely seen as politically motivated.
“The courtroom during Sherwani’s trial was militarized,” the CPT team said in twelve-minute a press conference, claiming they had recorded dozens of violations during the process during Thursday’s Erbil court session.
“There were 15 soldiers in the courtroom and even more in the outside.” “How can anybody defend themselves in a courtroom when the situation is like this.”
“It was not a fair trial,” they said.
According to the CPT team, the defending lawyers were not allowed to see any materials before Sherwani’s trial begin.
“It was unjust sentencing and unjust punishment.”
In the meantime, the CPT expressed concern about the treatment of prisoners at the Erbil prison, as well as the use of torture, and the access to medical support and the access to legal resources.
The CPT further pointed out that the Kurdistan Region judiciary system is being used as a political tool to punish and suppress activists and journalists.
“Unfortunately, it’s very obvious there is political interference in the judiciary system, it’s not independent and free,” they added.
