Trial of five Duhok detainees postponed to October 6: lawyer

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The trial of five people who were arrested one year ago in Duhok on charges of “plotting chaos” was on Wednesday postponed for a month, to the dismay of their families and lawmakers.

Amer Khalid Agid, Frsat Ahmad, Jamal Khalil, Suleiman Kamal, and Suleiman Mousa, all from Duhok, were among dozens arrested during anti-government protests last year. A lawyer for the group told reporters outside the courthouse that the trial had been postponed to October 6. The lawyer said security forces prevented them from talking to their clients.

The trial was postponed because of changes to the head of the judiciary and other members of the court who had not yet looked into the cases of the five men. This is the same reason that the trial of four other Duhok detainees was postponed on Monday, prompting them to declare a hunger strike.

The group of five are accused of “forming a group by the name of Harakat al-Mustaqbal (Future Movement), along with plotting chaos,” Karwan Gaznay, an MP from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said in July, at the first hearing of their trial. All five have denied the charges and MPs who attended the July 13 hearing said there was no proof of the alleged crime.

The postponement drew criticism from lawmakers who said the delay was not justified.

Six members of the Kurdistan Region parliament issued a joint statement on Wednesday saying the “representative of the public prosecutor is a permanent member of Erbil Criminal Court-2 and had received their cases beforehand. He should have prepared himself for the trial.”

“That’s why we are asking for the head of the public prosecution to change their representative in the mentioned court and put another representative that can perform their legal duties,” the statement read, adding the MPs were denied access to the detainees.

Others criticized the lengthy pre-trial custody.

“It’s a year that they have been in prison and haven’t seen their families,” Sipan Amedi, a New Generation MP, told reporters outside of the court. He alleged political influence in the delay, saying the court is “under party pressure. That’s why they can’t make a final judgment.”

Gorran MP Ali Hama Saleh in a Facebook post on Wednesday said that “continuing the trials and keeping them in Asayish prison is itself a severe punishment.”

Families of the five men gathered outside the courthouse, calling for their release and a resolution of their cases. They criticized the judiciary and the government for their prolonged detainment.

The five men were among dozens arrested during anti-government Duhok protests last year. 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, as well as diplomatic representatives in the Region. Government officials have denied there is interference in the judicial system.

Trial of five Duhok detainees postponed to October 6: lawyer

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