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Kurdistan
From left: Hariwan Issa, Guhdar Zebari, Sherwan Sherwani, Shvan Saeed, and Ayaz Karam. The five journalists and activists were sentenced last month to six years in jail. Photos: handout/KRSC
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) released on Thursday videos of purported confessions from the five journalists and activists who last month were sentenced to six years in jail on security charges. The KRSC said the five men had “direct” links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
"During the process of the interrogation, it has been proved through documents and confessions that they are directly linked to the PKK and a number of other parties. Upon their [PKK] request, they [defendants] gathered information about the bases of Asayish [internal security], Peshmerga, and Kurdistan judges,” read a statement from the KRSC.
The statement added that the five men received training on “light and silent weapons” and the “nature of their work had no relation with journalism or civil activism. Rather, they exploited the titles of journalist and activist in order to carry out their destructive plans and programs.”
Sherwan Sherwani, Shvan Saeed, Ayaz Karam, Hariwan Issa, and Guhdar Zebari were arrested in Duhok province last year along with several other people after anti-government protests over unpaid wages. They were sentenced to six years in prison by an Erbil court in mid-February, accused of destabilizing the Kurdistan Region’s security.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani claimed the detainees were “spies” and saboteurs plotting terror attacks against foreign missions, and abductions and assassinations.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) came under fire by local and international rights groups for the arrests and trials. President Nechirvan Barzani has said the appeal court must review the case “relying on and respecting law, human rights, and the legal rights of the defendant and the plaintiff.”
The appeal court has yet to hand down a ruling.
In its statement on Thursday, the KRSC said it had evidence the five men had ties with the PKK, mostly taken from phone calls and Messenger chats among themselves and with alleged intelligence people inside the PKK. The security council also released undated photographs of Sherwani posing with alleged PKK fighters.
The PKK is an armed group fighting for greater rights for Kurds in Turkey. It has a thorny relationship with the Kurdistan Region’s ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
During an alleged phone call between Sherwani and an alleged PKK intelligence officer, the journalist detailed plans to attack a judge in Erbil who had been involved in the arrests of friends of his, saying “We want to harm him.” The PKK intelligence officer promised training and logistic support.
KRSC also released what it said was a chat on the Facebook Messenger app between co-defendants Sherwani and Zebari. In the chat, Sherwani said, “Do you know how we can overcome the KDP? If there is a mafia group with advanced weapons, we can target each member of the KDP in a day.” Duhok Governor Ali Tatar is among the names of purported targets.
Sherwani also allegedly said he received $5,000 from an unnamed organization that had told him they had “coordination” with foreign embassies in Iraq and offered to send him to abroad.
The alleged confessions of the other defendants were similarly about exchanges of information related to the Kurdistan Region’s security forces and links to the PKK.
“There is more evidence. We did not see it necessary to publish them due to some legal, political and security reasons,” the KRSC stated.
Updated at 9:20 pm
"During the process of the interrogation, it has been proved through documents and confessions that they are directly linked to the PKK and a number of other parties. Upon their [PKK] request, they [defendants] gathered information about the bases of Asayish [internal security], Peshmerga, and Kurdistan judges,” read a statement from the KRSC.
The statement added that the five men received training on “light and silent weapons” and the “nature of their work had no relation with journalism or civil activism. Rather, they exploited the titles of journalist and activist in order to carry out their destructive plans and programs.”
Sherwan Sherwani, Shvan Saeed, Ayaz Karam, Hariwan Issa, and Guhdar Zebari were arrested in Duhok province last year along with several other people after anti-government protests over unpaid wages. They were sentenced to six years in prison by an Erbil court in mid-February, accused of destabilizing the Kurdistan Region’s security.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani claimed the detainees were “spies” and saboteurs plotting terror attacks against foreign missions, and abductions and assassinations.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) came under fire by local and international rights groups for the arrests and trials. President Nechirvan Barzani has said the appeal court must review the case “relying on and respecting law, human rights, and the legal rights of the defendant and the plaintiff.”
The appeal court has yet to hand down a ruling.
In its statement on Thursday, the KRSC said it had evidence the five men had ties with the PKK, mostly taken from phone calls and Messenger chats among themselves and with alleged intelligence people inside the PKK. The security council also released undated photographs of Sherwani posing with alleged PKK fighters.
The PKK is an armed group fighting for greater rights for Kurds in Turkey. It has a thorny relationship with the Kurdistan Region’s ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
During an alleged phone call between Sherwani and an alleged PKK intelligence officer, the journalist detailed plans to attack a judge in Erbil who had been involved in the arrests of friends of his, saying “We want to harm him.” The PKK intelligence officer promised training and logistic support.
KRSC also released what it said was a chat on the Facebook Messenger app between co-defendants Sherwani and Zebari. In the chat, Sherwani said, “Do you know how we can overcome the KDP? If there is a mafia group with advanced weapons, we can target each member of the KDP in a day.” Duhok Governor Ali Tatar is among the names of purported targets.
Sherwani also allegedly said he received $5,000 from an unnamed organization that had told him they had “coordination” with foreign embassies in Iraq and offered to send him to abroad.
The alleged confessions of the other defendants were similarly about exchanges of information related to the Kurdistan Region’s security forces and links to the PKK.
“There is more evidence. We did not see it necessary to publish them due to some legal, political and security reasons,” the KRSC stated.
Updated at 9:20 pm
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