Kurdish journalists and activists convicted for receiving money from US and Germany consulates
PEREGRAF
The Kurdistan Region’s Court of Appeals upheld a sentence of six years in prison for five activists and journalists in Badinan on Thursday, with the court saying that its decision was in part based on the defendants’ alleged relations with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the U.S. and German consulates, claiming that they had received money from those entities.
Journalists Sherwan Sherwani, Guhdar Zebari, and Ayaz Karam and activists Shvan Saeed Omar and Hariwan Issa were convicted and sentenced in February and filed an appeal immediately.
US and German consulates response to the decision
The decision to uphold was issued on April 28, with three out of five members of the court voting in favor. According to a formal document related to the decision seen by PEREGRAF, the appeals court emphasized the "correctness" of the Erbil Second Criminal Court's February decision to convict the five defendants of seeking to undermine the state.
"By their own admission, they say they had illegal relations with a group of foreign and unknown persons to accomplish their disturbing goals and they also contacted the American Consulate and the German Consulate and they received money from them," the appeals court's decision read.
"They also acknowledged that they had received financial assistance from a U.S. organization that was about $5,000 and had also sent videos to the International Lawyers' Organization about the movement of Peshmerga forces in the Shiladze area and information about oil wells in the Kurdistan Region. They have admitted to committing these crimes by encouraging a community of people inside and outside the region," it continued.
"The German Consulate in Erbil regrets today´s decision by the Court of Cassation against five journalists & activists. The decision remains difficult to comprehend, lacking clear proof of punishable crimes," tweeted the official account of the German Consulate in Erbil. They also call upon President of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani "to invoke his power to grant amnesty".
"Free exchanges with journalists & activists are part and parcel of diplomats’ daily work, also of The German Consulate in Erbil. The Court’s reference today is absurd & goes against the spirit of our close and friendly relations between Germany and KRI," the Consulate added.
Likewise, in a written statement provided to PEREGRAF, U.S. Consulate General Erbil stated that while they do not comment on individual court cases, "the United States has supported freedom of expression and media since our founding. It is part of our identity and we continue to promote it as one of our core values." The Consulate has promised to continue to emphasize the importance of due process and the rule of law, including access to legal counsel.
"We expect host governments all around the world to respect the work of US diplomats, who—much like journalists—meet with a variety of people in order to do their jobs. We extend this same courtesy to foreign diplomats working in the United States, including to representatives of the KRG," the statement added.
The Court of Appeals’s decision also alleged that "the accused have admitted to meeting with the German consul in a hotel and sending them to [Barzan’s] Dora area twice under the guidance of the leader of the accused group [Sherwan Sherwani]. The pictures and information taken from Sherwan’s laptop made us sure that the picture of a bunch of personalities of security, administrative, and military officials in Kurdistan Region. Each of the defendants in the defense case admitted that the accused, Shaaban Hassan Ramazan, known as Abu Shaabo, had sent them pictures through the communication devices to put them in the trap."
An "extremely problematic" trail
Once the journalists and activists finish their sentences, they will have to remain under police supervision for five more years.
Defense lawyer Bashdar Hassan criticized the court's decision at a press conference, saying that they saw the trial as "extremely problematic".
"[First,] the Asyaish should not have been in the courtroom," he said. "The second reason is that they did not have lawyers during the investigation phase and they said to the judge that they had spoken under threat."
"I don't know why it is a crime to visit the U.S. and German consulates," he continued.
"The U.S. and German consulates must respond themselves. Is their meeting with journalists and activists a crime? If this is a crime, they have to be punished too."
After the court's decision was issued, there was outrage on social media, with some demanding that Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani grant the five defendants a special pardon.
Many also called on the U.S. and German consulates to take a stance and take a hard line on the issue, particularly given the court’s assessment that allegedly meeting with diplomats was somehow nefarious.
Latif Mustafa, a retired judge, satirically wrote on Facebook that "if the president of the Region does not use his authority [to pardon the defendants], I suggest that journalists, civil activists, and intellectuals in the media, social media, and in reality, to start a campaign, under the hashtag of #USConsulateAndTheGermanConsulateOut."
"According to the court's decision, the two consulates are a place for spying and undermining the security of the Region and the work of terrorism and abuse," he continued.
"Any journalist or activist who has tried to contact them or contacted them can face the same accusation," Mustafa added.
CPJ calls to drop charges and release journalists
"With the Erbil Court of Cassation’s decision to uphold the six-year jail sentences of journalists Sherwan Amin Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari, the Iraqi Kurdistan regional government has shown that its purported commitment to press freedom is nothing but empty words," said the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Middle East and North Africa Representative Ignacio Miguel Delgado. "Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq should immediately release both journalists, drop the charges against them, and stop harassing members of the media."
Previously Human Rights Watch stated the proceedings in the Erbil Criminal Court were "marred by serious violations of fair trial standards as well as high-level political interference". And asked the Kurdish authorities involved in the appeal should consider these violations when deciding whether to oppose the appeal.
"Flawed trials in the Kurdistan Region are nothing new," said Belkis Wille, senior crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch, "But flaunting the most basic principles of justice to punish people for allegedly planning protests is a new low."
Last February a court in Erbil convicted five journalists and activists, Sherwan Sherwani, Guhdar Zebari, Ayaz Karam, Shivan Omar and Hariwan Issa, to six years in prison each for violating Section 1 of Law 21 (2003) of the Iraqi Penal Code, which criminalizes actions that undermine the independence, unity, or security of the country.
The ruling followed by outrage from the public, Kurdish political parties, lawmakers, and international and local watchdog organizations, blaming the ruling to be "unfair" and "politically motivated."
"CPJ talked to Sherwan Amin Sherwani’s lawyer and other sources, and we think the sentence is disproportionate and unfair and the evidence produced in the trial was insufficient, circumstantial, and inconclusive," CPJ Middle East and North Africa Representative Ignacio Miguel Delgado told PEREGRAF last February.
In response, The Kurdistan Region’s Judicial Council insisted in a statement on Wednesday that the judicial process was "conducted openly and transparently" and "the trial was fair."
The state of justice in Kurdistan: worst in last four decades
However, according to Rizgar Amin, renowned Kurdish judge and a member of Kurdistan’s Cassation Court, the state of justice and the rule of law in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in particular "has never been worse past 40 years".
A week before the trial, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani accused the defendants of being "spies" and "saboteurs." Barzani alleged that those journalists and activists worked for other countries during a press conference, describing them as "destructive and armed."
Following the outrage, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani also released a statement on the case stating that he is watching the issue and said: "it is the duty of the [Kurdistan’s] Appellate Court to review the case, relying on and respecting the law, human rights, and the legal rights of the defendant and the plaintiff so that everyone feels that their rights are protected."
Sherwan Sherwani was arrested on October 7, 2020, while Guhdar Zebari, Ayaz Karam, Shivan Omar and Hariwan Issa were arrested on October 22, 2020, after social media posts echoing protesters’ demands and complaints, including complaints about delays in paying the salaries of state employees and allegations of government corruption. Still, dozens of other activists and protesters behind bars in Erbil and Duhok waiting for their trials.
Concerns over the state of freedom of expression in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have risen in the last few years. Numerous international reports have been issued over violations of freedom of expression, violence against journalists, and closing media outlets; however, the KRG has not taken necessary action to address the violations, and on the contrary, they have neglected the recommendations.
Families do not have access to imprisoned journalists for months
According to the statement of the families of the imprisoned journalists and activists to PEREGRAF, both journalists Sherwan Sherwani and Gohdar Zebari, who have not been allowed to call their relatives for two months, this comes at a time when limited phone calls for two detainees will be setup for them, and another phone call is being suspended for the other detainees.
"We talked to Sherwan for two minutes before Newroz, and then he didn't call," Rugash Izzadeen, wife of Sherwan Sherwani, told PEREGRAF. "His brother visited the security forces and took money and clothes for him, but they didn't let him see himself."
"Ayhan Saeed, brother of Shvan Saeed and a human rights activist, told PEREGRAF that "the people of Sherwan and The Gohdar are not allowed to call, and they are not allowed to call on the pretext their voice has been recorded and published".
"They are constantly visiting security to see journalists and activists arrested in Badinan," said Bashdar Hassan, a lawyer for the Badinan detainees' case. "They don't allow us to see them every time they have a different excuse for us," and they won't even let us to talk with them by phone.
"Ayaz has not called for more than two months and we don't know what the reason is," Jargis Kram, brother of Ayaz Karem, one of the five Badinan convicts, told PEREGRAF.
Ayaz Akram's brother said " they allowed us two for three times to send him money, and once clothes. we saw him once nearly five months ago.
Ayhan Saeed also insisted that "weekly or after a bunch of weeks" they would allow his brother Shvani to call, "but it is only for making sure if he is good, they are not allowed to talk about their situation".
"They didn't talk about everything on the phone before, but when the human rights committee went to them, they talked about whom they were not given medicine and their place was bad and Sherwan said they punished me once," said Ayhan Saeed.
"A week ago, Hariwan called, a week ago," said Saeed Issa, Hariwan Issa's brother. He said, "My situation is good." "He didn't say anything more."
"Many times, Hariwan asked for clothes, we took them twice, but they didn't take us from the security forces, they said it was forbidden, and this last time he asked again for clothes, And I said he brought you twice and security won't allow it," said Saeed Issa.
"We haven't seen him after the punishment," said Hariwan Issa's brother. "He calls us once in two or three weeks, and he speaks one or two minutes."