SULAIMANI (ESTA) — British Consulate General in Erbil said on Tuesday that meeting between foreign diplomats, journalists and activists should not be a crime, in response to allegations made in the verdict from the court of cassation in Erbil in the case of five journalists and activists.
On Thursday, the court of cassation in Erbil upheld convictions of the journalists and activists, who were detained in Duhok province in October 2020 over allegedly undermining national security in the Region.
On February 16, Erbil criminal court-2 sentenced journalists Sherwan Sherwani, Guhdar Zebrai and Ayaz Karam as well as activists Shvan Omer and Hariwan Issa to six years each in jail on national security charges.
“The UK has seen the verdict from the Cassation Court of the KRI in the case relating to five journalists and activists,” the British consulate said in a tweet on Tuesday, referring to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
“We are concerned at a series of allegations of shortcomings in the circumstances of their detention and in the trial process,” it added.
In its decision, the court of cassation alleged that the defendants “contacted the U.S. and German consulates and received money,” without giving further details.
It also alleged that “the defendants confessed that they had met with the German consul in one of the hotels in Erbil and they sent him [the consul] to Dora area twice, directed by the head of the group defendant Shirwan Amina Na’oo.”
“We are also surprised by the references to meetings with foreign consulates in court documents; meeting with foreign diplomats should not be a crime,” the British consulate said.
“The UK calls for full and scrupulous adherence to due process and the rule of law in the KRI, as everywhere else in the world.”
On Monday, the European Union delegation and the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States in Iraq also expressed their concern about references made in the verdict to contacts between the accused and foreign embassies, including the German Consulate General in Erbil.
“Regular exchanges with civil society are an integral part of the work of diplomatic representations worldwide,” they said in a statement.
They called on the KRG to “fully meet its human rights obligations, including on the right to a fair trial and due process, and to guarantee the full enjoyment of freedom of expression and press freedom.”
In response to the allegation, the U.S. consulate general in Erbil said on Thursday that the United States expected the KRG to respect the work of its diplomats as it does so for the KRG representatives working in the United States.
“We expect host governments all around the world to respect the work of U.S. diplomats, who—much like journalists—meet with a variety of people in order to do their jobs. We extend this same courtesy to foreign diplomats working in the United States, including to representatives of the KRG,” it told Esta Media Network.
Similarly, the German consulate general in Erbil said the court’s reference to its diplomats was absurd.
“Free exchanges with journalists & activists are part and parcel of diplomats’ daily work, also of @GermanyInKRI. The Court’s reference today is absurd & goes against the spirit of our close and friendly relations between Germany and #KRI,” it said in a tweet.
On Saturday, the French Consulate General in Erbil said the friendship that binds France to the Kurdish people is based on common values and shared principles including freedoms of the press and of expression.
“The Consulate General of France in Erbil looks with concern at the court’s decision on cases of five journalists and activists in the Kurdistan Region,” the consulate said in a statement.
“The Consulate General of France reminds that the friendship that binds us to the Kurdish people and the cooperation between France and the Kurdistan Region are based on shared value and principles, including freedom of the press, freedom of expression and demonstrations,” it added.
