ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Erbil’s appellate court has upheld six-year sentences given to journalists and activists detained in Duhok last year, a lawyer working on the case has confirmed to Rudaw.
“Right now, only the Kurdistan Region President can issue an amnesty for the detained, otherwise there is no hope,” lawyer Bashdar Hassan told Rudaw’s Sirwan Abbas, confirming that Erbil appeal court has upheld the original sentences.
In February, five journalists and activists – Sherwan Sherwani, Shvan Saeed, Ayaz Karam, Hariwan Issa, and Guhdar Zebari – were put on trial for “endangering the national security of the Kurdistan Region.” They were found guilty and sentenced to six years in jail, prompting outcry from media watchdogs and human rights groups.
The appeal court upheld the ruling in May, saying the men had intended to “target sensitive areas and establishments in the Kurdistan Region.”
“They had also contacted the American consulate and German consulate and took money from them,” the appeal court’s ruling said, adding that the defendants had allegedly contacted the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK).
However, Hassan said that those charges have been dropped.
“Previously they said that they had spied for the consulates, but they have now removed that section,” he said in a Sunday press conference.
Amnesty International has slammed the appellate court’s former decision, releasing a call to action in the form of a letter to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Coordinator Office for International Advocacy, Dindar Zebari calling on the KRG to “immediately” release the five detainees.
“I urge you to immediately and unconditionally release Sherwan Sherwani, Guhdar Zebari, Hariwan Issa, Ayaz Karam and Shvan Saeed, immediately take all steps to ensure their unjust conviction is quashed or overturned, and ensure a prompt and effective investigation into the allegations of torture and other ill-treatment with a view to holding perpetrators accountable and providing redress to them,” read the letter from Amnesty International, which served as a template for people to send to the KRG representative.
"The Kurdistan Regional Government is fully committed to the rule of law, to a fair and impartial legal process, and to the freedom of the media," read a statement from Zebari sent to Rudaw in May.
"The government is currently working with UNAMI and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure Kurdistan is fully meeting its international human rights obligations and is following international human rights best practice, in particular in respect to media freedom."
