SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani urged all sides to respect the judiciary system in the Kurdistan Region, as criticism grows over the sentencing of several journalists and activists to jail.
“I strongly urge everyone to respect the judiciary system in the Kurdistan Region and to let it do its job independently and without interference,” Barzani said in a tweet on Friday (February 19).
On February 16, a court in Erbil 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 Kurdish security forces arrested the five in Duhok province last autumn over allegedly undermining national security in the region.
Barzani’s tweet came after the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said it had followed “closely” the recent detentions of journalists and activists as well as their trail in the Kurdistan Region.
“The U.S. has consistently engaged on the issue of freedom expression, including for members of the press, with KRG officials and will continue to do so,” the U.S. embassy tweeted.
“Democratic societies respect freedom and expression and support the ability of press members to report without fear of retaliation,” it said.
The day before, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said he was following the case closely, reiterating his support for the rule of law, independence of the courts and human rights principles.
“The February 16th court sentencing of a number of detainees has stirred public concern,” Barzani said in a statement on Thursday.
“In accordance with the law, the defendants have the right to appeal the decision, and the Court of Appeal is obligated to review the decision in a way that upholds the legal and human rights of the defendants and the plaintiffs,” he added.
On February 10, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani accused some of the detainees of being spies and planning to assassinate and blow up diplomatic missions in the Region.
“Those who were detained are not journalists and activists. Some of them were spies of countries and some others attempted to explode buildings and places of foreigners in the Region,” Barzani said in a press conference, referring to diplomatic missions in the Region.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani said the case of the detainees was a “legal case, but it has created doubts with people and that will stain the name and reputation of the Kurdistan Region”.
“I call on the general prosecutor to play its role and for an accurate decision to be made by the court of appeals, where the rule of law, freedom, and democracy are preserved,” Talabani said.
On Feb. 10, the Committee to Protect Journalists called on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to release the journalists.
“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.”
