Kurdisches Gericht verlängert Haftstrafe von Journalisten

Seit Jahren steht die kurdische Regionalregierung im Irak in der Kritik für ihre repressiven Maßnahmen gegen Journalisten. Gerade erst verlängerte ein Gericht in Arbil die Haftstrafe für Sherwan Sherwani um weitere vier Jahre, während in Dohuk ein Kollege, der diese Entscheidung kritisierte, festgenommen wurde.

The new prison term was handed down just two months before he was due to be released.

Sherwani was one of a group of journalists and activists arrested by Duhok security forces in recent years in connection with protests. In February 2021, he and four others were put on trial for “endangering the national security of the Kurdistan Region.” They were found guilty and sentenced to six years in jail.

Ramazan Artisi, Sherwani’s lawyer, told reporters in Erbil on Thursday that the new prison sentence is related to a document withdrawing a request to court for the conditional release of four of the Duhok detainees. Sherwani signed it on behalf of one his colleagues, Guhdar Zebari, who was being held in solitary confinement and could not sign it himself.

“Today, the court sentenced Sherwani to four years in jail over the issue,” said the lawyer, noting that he was accused of faking the document even though the four people named on the document - Shvan Saeed, Ayaz Karam, Hariwan Issa, and Guhdar Zebari - told the judge that they had allowed Sherwani to sign on behalf of Zebari. 

The trials and prison sentences of the Duhok detainees drew outcry from diplomats, media watchdogs, and human rights groups who highlighted flaws in the legal system and accused Kurdish authorities of cracking down on dissent, charges the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has denied.

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani issued a decree in February 2022 to reduce most of the sentences by 60 percent, apart from Sherwani, whose sentence was reduced by 50 percent. Saeed, Karam and Issa were released in March. Sherwani was due to be released in September.