SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Two more activists detained in Duhok province in 2020 would be released on Wednesday, Esta Media Network reporter said.
Kurdish security forces detained dozens of journalists and activists in Duhok in 2020 over espionage and allegedly undermining national security in the Kurdistan Region.
Among them were Masoud Shangali and Shirwan Taha who were given prison sentences by a court in Erbil.
Shangali was sentenced to three years and six months in jail and Taha was sentenced to two years and six months in prison.
Esta Media Network reporter said a court in Erbil decided to release the two activists after their lawyers called for a review of the court’s decision to prison them.
In February 2021, Erbil criminal court sentenced journalists Sherwan Sherwani, Guhdar Zebari and Ayaz Karam as well as activists Shvan Omer and Hariwan Issa to six years in prison on national security charges.
Their lawyers presented appeals twice to the court of appellate, but they were rejected.
