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Iraq
The survivor and her husband being interviewed by Rudaw in their home in Altun Kupri on Thursday. Photo: Rudaw TV
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The sexual assault of a Kurdish woman in Kirkuk province “tarnishes the dignity of all Kurds,” said Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Region’s ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on Friday afternoon.
“The news of a sexual assault against a Kurdish woman with special needs by a number of people affiliated with the Iraqi police and Hashd forces near Prde [Altun Kupri] checkpoint has been reported by media in the last few days,” reads a statement from Barzani, who also formerly served as the president of the Kurdistan Region.
He called on the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to jointly conduct a “proper investigation” into the incident and punish the perpetrators.
Although police have acknowledged and arrested a policeman in relation to the assault, they deny the involvement of Hashd al-Shaabi para-militants.
“One of them is a policeman who had just returned to the job [after leaving his position or being fired for unknown reasons]. The other one had wanted to join Hashd, but was not recruited. He is not employed. He is an IDP who lives in Prde [Altun Kupri],” Afrasyaw Kamil, spokesperson for the Kirkuk police, told Rudaw late Thursday.
Both individuals have been arrested but unconfirmed reports speculate that more than the two men arrested were involved in the attack.
Kamil denies the involvement of other assailants.
Abu Radha al-Najar, head of Hashd al-Shaabi for northern Iraq, stated that thus far there has been no information indicating the involvement of members of the militia network in the incident.
"If you have any information [about the involvement of Hashd members], do not lose it. You will see how we will treat those responsible for assaulting people. We do not allow anyone from Hashd al-Shaabi to abuse a human being, even if they are crazy," he said in a press conference in Kirkuk on late Friday.
He added that they have obtained a copy of the assault video after visiting the police directorate in Kirkuk to investigate the incident.
The person arrested for allegedly filming the assault has claimed that he once worked as a tea-maker for Hashd al-Ashayiri, a Sunni section of Hashd, said Najar.
"We asked people at Hashd al-Ashayiri. They said that he worked with them for a week or two," he said, adding that they will send a "high-level" committee to Altun Kupri on Saturday to further investigate, inviting media to accompany them.
The attack took place on April 1, but arrests were not made until Wednesday after news of the assault went viral on social media.
Rudaw was among the first news outlets to report on the incident after obtaining a video which purportedly shows a man sexually assaulting a woman while another person films the violation.
Barzani said that this assault does not only harm the dignity of the people of Kirkuk but all Kurds, adding that the perpetrators should be given the toughest punishment.
“Let no one think that such a crime will pass [without punishing the perpetrators] and that it will be ignored. This assault does not only tarnish the dignity of the people of Kirkuk, but of all Kurds, and the perpetrators of this unscrupulous act should be punished in the harshest way.”
The survivor is a disabled Kurdish woman in her forties who lives with her Turkmen husband in Altun Kupri, a town located on the Kirkuk-Erbil border. Her husband also has special needs, and is not able to walk.
They did not have housing until a group of philanthropists gave them a house to live in. However, they still cannot make ends meet, as the couple is without an income.
Jiwan Hasan, a former member of Kirkuk Provincial Council which has now been dissolved, blames the Iraqi government for not sheltering the woman.
“This woman is mentally ill and uses medicine. Sometimes, she is unconscious of what she does [due to her illness]. We tried to institutionalize her at a government-sponsored shelter, but unfortunately the Iraqi government has been very negligent in this regard,” she told Rudaw.
“We do not have a shelter for the mentally ill. We do not even have a hospital for them. She is not old enough to be moved to a retirement home,” added Hassan.
Hasan warned that the accused being a policeman may reduce the public’s trust in security forces.
“The news of a sexual assault against a Kurdish woman with special needs by a number of people affiliated with the Iraqi police and Hashd forces near Prde [Altun Kupri] checkpoint has been reported by media in the last few days,” reads a statement from Barzani, who also formerly served as the president of the Kurdistan Region.
He called on the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to jointly conduct a “proper investigation” into the incident and punish the perpetrators.
Although police have acknowledged and arrested a policeman in relation to the assault, they deny the involvement of Hashd al-Shaabi para-militants.
“One of them is a policeman who had just returned to the job [after leaving his position or being fired for unknown reasons]. The other one had wanted to join Hashd, but was not recruited. He is not employed. He is an IDP who lives in Prde [Altun Kupri],” Afrasyaw Kamil, spokesperson for the Kirkuk police, told Rudaw late Thursday.
Both individuals have been arrested but unconfirmed reports speculate that more than the two men arrested were involved in the attack.
Kamil denies the involvement of other assailants.
Abu Radha al-Najar, head of Hashd al-Shaabi for northern Iraq, stated that thus far there has been no information indicating the involvement of members of the militia network in the incident.
"If you have any information [about the involvement of Hashd members], do not lose it. You will see how we will treat those responsible for assaulting people. We do not allow anyone from Hashd al-Shaabi to abuse a human being, even if they are crazy," he said in a press conference in Kirkuk on late Friday.
He added that they have obtained a copy of the assault video after visiting the police directorate in Kirkuk to investigate the incident.
The person arrested for allegedly filming the assault has claimed that he once worked as a tea-maker for Hashd al-Ashayiri, a Sunni section of Hashd, said Najar.
"We asked people at Hashd al-Ashayiri. They said that he worked with them for a week or two," he said, adding that they will send a "high-level" committee to Altun Kupri on Saturday to further investigate, inviting media to accompany them.
Rudaw was among the first news outlets to report on the incident after obtaining a video which purportedly shows a man sexually assaulting a woman while another person films the violation.
Barzani said that this assault does not only harm the dignity of the people of Kirkuk but all Kurds, adding that the perpetrators should be given the toughest punishment.
“Let no one think that such a crime will pass [without punishing the perpetrators] and that it will be ignored. This assault does not only tarnish the dignity of the people of Kirkuk, but of all Kurds, and the perpetrators of this unscrupulous act should be punished in the harshest way.”
The survivor is a disabled Kurdish woman in her forties who lives with her Turkmen husband in Altun Kupri, a town located on the Kirkuk-Erbil border. Her husband also has special needs, and is not able to walk.
They did not have housing until a group of philanthropists gave them a house to live in. However, they still cannot make ends meet, as the couple is without an income.
Jiwan Hasan, a former member of Kirkuk Provincial Council which has now been dissolved, blames the Iraqi government for not sheltering the woman.
“This woman is mentally ill and uses medicine. Sometimes, she is unconscious of what she does [due to her illness]. We tried to institutionalize her at a government-sponsored shelter, but unfortunately the Iraqi government has been very negligent in this regard,” she told Rudaw.
“We do not have a shelter for the mentally ill. We do not even have a hospital for them. She is not old enough to be moved to a retirement home,” added Hassan.
Hasan warned that the accused being a policeman may reduce the public’s trust in security forces.
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