Erbil police seek arrest of Shaswar Abdulwahid: NRT

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Erbil police have asked their Sulaimani counterparts to arrest the head of the New Generation Movement, Shaswar Abdulwahid, and hand him over, according to documents published by NRT, the media outlet established by Abdulwahid.  

The warrant is related to a 2020 allegation the businessman-turned-politician encouraged people to break a coronavirus-related lockdown and participate in anti-government protests. 

A businessman with real estate holdings, Abdulwahid established the Nalia Media Company in 2010 and entered politics in 2017 to campaign against the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum. He created a political party, the New Generation Movement, in 2018 and has been a vocal critic of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and its ruling parties. 

He has been arrested and released several times over the past few years on various charges including blackmail, defamation, and fraud.