SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Committee to Protect Journalists on Tuesday called on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to release journalists sentenced to prison by a court in Erbil
A court in Erbil sentenced on Tuesday Sherwan Sherwani, Shivan Saeed, Ayaz Karam, Hariwan Issa and Guhdar Zebari to six years each in prison.
“Today’s sentencing of journalists Sherwan Amin Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari is not only unfair and disproportionate, but it also proves that the Iraqi Kurdistan regional government has finally dropped the pretense of caring about press freedom,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Representative Ignacio Miguel Delgado.
“Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq should immediately release both journalists, drop the charges against them, and cease harassing the media.”
As many as 76 journalists and activists have been detained for allegedly disrupting national security in the Region.
