New postponement in Peregraf freedom of information lawsuit against Kurdistan Parliament speaker

20-10-2022 01:02

Peregraf

A third hearing in the freedom of information lawsuit filed by Peregraf’s editor-in-chief against Kurdistan Parliament Speaker Rewaz Fayaq took place in a Sulaymaniyah court on Thursday (October 20).

The case was brought by Peregraf Editor-in-Chief’s Surkew Mohammed, who was present alongside Karzan Fazil, a lawyer and head of the Democracy and Human Rights Development Centre (DHRD), who is representing Peregraf in the case.

A lawyer for Speaker Fayaq was also present.

In August, Mohammed filed lawsuits against Speaker Fayaq, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani seeking information about how their offices have spent public funds.

In addition to pursuing transparency in public finances, the case is designed to test procedures outlined in the Kurdistan Region’s Right to Obtain Information Act (No. 11, 2013).

A court in Erbil is hearing the cases against the president and prime minister and held a similar hearing on Tuesday.

During Thursday’s proceedings in Sulaimaniyah, Fazil provided a written response to an earlier motion by the speaker’s lawyer to dismiss the case.

The judge ordered a postponement until November 10, 2022 to consider the matter.