The menacing state of Duhok drives different party members out of their homes

07-07-2021 02:16

PEREGRAF

Members of different political parties are being forced out of their hometown in Duhok province’s Badinan area amid their continued detention, while the ruling party accused of the act says the freedom in Duhok is unlike any other place in Iraq.

"We have tried hard to see my brother through the party, tribal and legal connections, but we can't visit him, we only know that he is in Duhok’s prison," Nabi Barwari, the brother of an imprisoned member of the  Kurdistan Patriotic Union (PUK), the second biggest party of the Kurdistan Region after the KDP, told PEREGRAF.

"Asayish said he was arrested on charges of links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)," said Barwari.

Nazir Barwari, arrested in February by the internal security forces (Aasayish) of Zakho, is among the latest PUK detainees in Badinan. Despite not being granted visits by his lawyer, his colleagues or brother since his arrest, the family was told to get any other information on him from the lawyer.

The Badinan Region is one of the areas of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq which covers the cities of Amedi, Akre, Zakho, Shekhan, and Duhok. The Kurdish dialect of the people in this region, which is called Badini, differs from the rest of the Kurdistan Region, including Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, called Sorani.

The two ruling parties each have their areas of influence. The PUK’s administrative power is entrenched in Sulaimaniyah province, while the KDP has theirs concentrated in the provinces of Erbil and Duhok.

More than 25 members of the PUK and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) have been arrested in Duhok in 2020, and a number from Change (Gorran) party have fled, according to information obtained by PEREGRAF.

"Our cadre has been arrested at his house, all the family was told is that he is linked to PKK. We tried hard to see him, but to no avail, even through the KDP," Muhsin Kestayi, head of a PUK office in Zakho, told PEREGRAF.

The PKK, mainly based in the Kurdistan Region, is an armed Kurdish group fighting for the rights of Kurds in Turkey. The group is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and the two sides are at war in the Kurdistan Region. However, there are no laws or penalties concerning links to the party.

"Neither his family, nor the PUK, nor the lawyer could meet Nazir, even though he hasn’t been tried," Kestayi added. "The leadership of the PUK is aware, they have tried hard but with no outcome."

The arrest of the party member coincides with a campaign launched last year’s August protests in Zakho, in which dozens of journalists and activists in Badinan were arrested on various charges, including "disturbing security and rioting." The protests soon escalated into tensions and shooting, resulting in injuries from both civilians and security.

The campaign is ongoing - several people have been issued arrest warrants but security forces haven’t been able to reach them.

None of the Duhok Journalists or activists arrested have been brought before the court under laws concerning journalism, protests or the misuse of technology, they have been convicted according to the Iraqi penal code.

Five of the detainees were sentenced to six years in prison in mid-February this year which sparked national and international repercussions. However, the Court of Appeal approved the sentence twice, and only the Kurdistan Region’s president can free them with a special amnesty.

"Our members, without violating the law, are detained after every protest. Then they are released following an investigation," Ramazan Artisi, head of KIU relations department in Duhok told PEREGRAF.

"Our cadre is not in prison, but some of our cadres have been mentioned during the trial of the Badinan prisoners and have fled to Sulaimaniyah, fearing the same fate," Moayyad Ahmed, head of the Gorran office in Badinan, told PEREGRAF.

The official added that their members and supporters get detained and investigated during protests, and the act has been blamed on the KDP by the other parties.

"There is no truth in the other parties’ accusations of KDP and security forces," Khalid Ahmed, an official of the KDP’s first branch in Duhok, told the PEREGRAF. "They have failed in working as parties and organizations, so they accuse the KDP with a different pretext each time."

According to a KDP official, the security does not allow "spying" to protect Duhok’s security. "KDP members have also been detained many times," he added.

"There isn’t freedom in doing political and organizational work in any other place in Iraq as much as Duhok," said Ahmed.

The Kurdistan Region has faced strong criticism from local and international freedom and rights advocacy organizations because of the Badinan situation especially for journalists, activists and non-KDP members.

Many activists, journalists and cadres in areas under the control of the PDK, particularly in Badinan, have moved to Sulaimaniyah, Iraqi cities or out of the country in the past few months in fear of being arrested, PEREGRAF has learned during follow-ups with the issue.

Qadir Eido, a PUK official in Duhok said that their members are put in detention "for several hours or days" by security then get released, adding the act has damaged ties between the two parties in Duhok.

PEREGRAF reached out for statements from Badinan’s security officials but they refused to comment.

"Fifteen members and journalists of the KIU in Badinan were arrested in less than a year, and released after investigations and searching their phones," Akram Kolli, a journalist and activist from the KIU in Duhok, told PEREGRAF.

According to Kolli, some of the arrests were due to political activities, demonstrations or journalism.

"Unfortunately, there is no freedom in using our mobile phones in the Badinan area, there is always a fear that a force or an armed group will arrest you out of nowhere and break your mobile phone," said Kolli.