Teacher and activist Badal Barwari and journalist Omed Baroshki were among dozens arrested in Duhok in the summer of 2020 after anti-government protests over unpaid wages. Barwari will be released next month, but Baroshki is facing other charges, according to the MP.
“Today they were sentenced to one year," Gorran MP Ali Hama Saleh told reporters following the court ruling. The one-year sentence began November 25 last year, he explained. After the year is served, Barwari will be released, but Baroshki will face "some defamation cases in Duhok."
One of their lawyers said they were convicted under article 222 of the Iraqi penal code, which relates to unauthorized protests. The article reads: "If the intent of the gathering is to commit a felony or misdemeanor or to prevent the implementation of laws, regulations or decisions or to influence the affairs of the public authorities or to deprive another of his freedom of action with the use of force or menaces, then any person who calls for such a gathering or organizes it or who participates in it while being aware of its objective or any person who remains at it after having become aware of the objective is punishable by a period of detention not exceeding 2 years plus a fine not exceeding 200 dinars or by one of those penalties."
Baroshki was also convicted in June and sentenced to a year in prison on a separate charge of “misusing a communication device.”
The pair was first put on trial with five others who were convicted in February for “endangering the national security of the Kurdistan Region.” The cases of Barwari and Baroshki were sent back to the court for further hearings because of a lack of evidence.
Trials of two other groups of defendants arrested around the same time are also making their way through the courts.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has come under fire for the prosecution of the Duhok detainees. European diplomats in June said they were concerned that “basic fair trial standards have not been respected” during prosecution of Barwari and Baroshki’s five co-defendants.
Erbil has defended the trials, stating that the courts are independent and has requested assistance from the UN and foreign missions to strengthen the legal system and train judges. “The Kurdistan Regional Government does not and will not interfere with legal processes. We call on the foreign and domestic entities to respect the court's decisions and heed the impartiality of the judicial process,” Dindar Zebari, the government’s coordinator for international advocacy, said in response to the EU statement.
Karwan Gaznai, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) member of the parliament, said Tuesday’s ruling proves that “all the allegations were baseless.”
“We hope that the court proves its independence in the case of other detainees and an amnesty be released for those who have been sentenced," he told reporters.
He also said he was not happy with the sentence, saying “I think they should have been released last year.”
Hearings in Barwari and Baroshki’s case were postponed three times. Two other trials of multiple defendants arrested in Duhok have also been postponed.
One of Barwari’s lawyers said his client, who was arrested in August last year, has already spent more than a year in jail and should be released now, rather than wait another month.
Family members and advocacy organizations are concerned about the men’s health. Christopher Lee, from the civil advocacy organization Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), previously told Rudaw English he was worried about Barwari and Baroshki who had lost weight in prison.
Updated at 1:56 pm
Additional reporting by Hadi Salimi
